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LIFE 



OP 



WiNFiELD Scott Hancock, 



MAJOR-GENERAL, U.S.A. 



HIS CHILDHOOD, YOUTH, EDUCATION, MILITARY 
CAREER, SOCIAL AND DOMESTIC LIFE. 



BY 



FREDERICK E. GOODRICH, 

n 

AUTHOR OF " LIFE OF GROVER CLEVELAND," ETC. 



"War is a terrible trade; hut in the cause that is righteous, 
sweet is the smell of powder. " Longiellow. 



BOSTON : 
PUBLISHED BY B. B. RUSSELL, 

57 CORNHILL. 

1886. 







Copyright, 
B. B. RUSSELL, 

1886. 



TO THE PEOPLE 
OF A REUNITED COUNTRT 

THIS STORY OP 

A PATRIOTIC LIFE 
Is Dedicated. 



Part I,— BOY AND MAN. 
Part II.— THE SOLDIER. 
Part III.— THE PATRIOT. 
Part IV.— THE STATESMAN. 



PREFACE. 



To tell the story of the life of a successful general is to 
recite a romance. Hard and cruel as the work of war may 
be in reality, it is only while it is doing that its hardships and 
its roughnesses are seen. When it is done, the glory of the 
result smooths the crudenesses, and gilds the dark places, and 
rounds the whole into a picturesque completeness. The love 
of conflict is as much a part of human nature as the love of 
peace ; and delight in tales of war lies deep down in man's 
heart. Stories of heroes and of saints, of warfare temporal 
and spiritual, form the earliest literature of mankind. 

But when to this is added the element of patriotism, and 
the successful warrior is one who fights not alone for glory or 
for the love of fighting, but for the love of country, a new 
zest is given the chronicle of his deeds. And when, still 
further, this love of country is the love of a free, popular 
government, — when the struggle is for the sake of liberty 
and for maintaining the will of the people, — the soldier in 
such a cause becomes a hero, whether successful or not. 

The subject of this sketch is such a hero, and a most suc- 
cessful one. But, great as is his glory in war, the impartial 
historian will accord him at least equal honor for the display 
of rare administrative talent in civil aflairs, — most rare, 
indeed, in connection with such superlative military genius 
as he has shown. 



8 PREFACE. 

In writing the life of this patriot, soldier, and statesman, 
the only embarrassment is that of a superabundance of ma 
terial. His life has been one long romance of duty well per- 
formed, filled with adventure, with great deeds, and with 
noble actions. To select from the history of the American 
Republic during the past forty years such facts as may show 
the part which General Hancock has taken in the work of 
making and saving our country is the purpose of the writer 
of this volume. Much has to be left untold in the limits of a 
work of this sort. It is sought simply to show the man as 
he appears in the history of his country. 

In collecting facts for this work, especial care has been 
taken to secure absolute authenticity ; and the author ac- 
knowledges his indebtedness to the courtesy of Hon. B. E. 
Chain and Hon. B. M. Boyer, of Norristown, Penn., inti- 
mate companions of the boy Winfield and trusted friends of 
the General ; to Gen. William B. Franklin, Gen. St. Clair 
A. MulhoUand, Gen. George H. Gordon, Hon. George L. 
Thorndike, and others of his companions in arms ; to Town- 
send Ward, Esq., Secretary of the Historical Society of 
Pennsylvania, and to many others. The story of General 
Hancock's public services is chiefly taken from the official 
reports and documents of Congress and the War Depart- 
ment; and, among unofficial sources, from Moore's *' Record 
of the Rebellion," Greeley's "American Conflict," and 
Swinton's ''Army of the Potomac" and "Twelve Great 
Battles." 

The heroes of the great civil wfir are fast passing away. 
Within a few short months the country has mourned the loss 
ct Grant, McClellan, and Hancock. Their lives and their 



PREFACE. 9 

deeds have become history. It is a history in which any 

nation might take pride, and in no page is it more brilliant 

than in that which records the career of Winfield Scott 
Hancock. 

F. E. a. 

Independence Square, Boston, 
February, 1886. 



OONTEIfTS. 



Page 
Preface 7 

PART I. — BOY AND MAN. 

CHAPTER I. 

THE HANCOCK FAMILY. 

Its Services in tlie "War of the Revolution. — Marriage of Benjamin 
F. Hancock and Settlement in Norristown, Penn. — Early Strug- 
gles of the Young Couple. — School-Teaching and Law. — Edu- 
cation of the Twins, Winfield and Hilary 21 

CHAPTER II. 

BIETH AND BOYHOOD. 

His Name, and its Influence upon his Career. — The School-boys' 
Train-band. — Captain Winfield. —The Champion of the Weak. 
— Anecdotes of his School-days 28 

CHAPTER III. 

THE WEST-POINT CADET. 

One of Winfield Hancock's Chums. — His Home Life. — A Student 
in Norristown Academy. — The Baptist Sundaj^-School. — A Cadet 
at West Point. — How he was appointed. — His Classmates . . 34 

PART II.— THE SOLDIER. 
CHAPTER I. 

ON THE FRONTIER. 

Lieutenant Hancock enters the Sixth Infantry. — Protecting the 
Advance Guard of White Settlers. — The Outbreak of the Mexi- 
can War. — Hancock's Request to be ordered to the Front. — He 

is sent to Mexico. — He begins to make a Record 45 

11 



12 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER II. 

HIS FIRST BREVET. 

Battle of Churubusco. — The Advance upon the City of Mexico. — 
General Worth's Brigade ordered to carry the Fortification. — 
Lieutenant Hancock's Company leads the Charge.— The Repulse. 

— Lieutenant Hancock wins his first Brevet for Gallantry in 
Action . 53 

CHAPTER IIL 

MOLINO DEL REY. 

Situation of Scott's Army before the City of Mexico. — Lieutenant 
Hancock again foremost in the Post of Danger. — He leads his 
Company against the Battery at Molino del Rey. — Hancock 
saved amid the Carnage 59 

CHAPTER IV. 

CHAPULTEPEC. 

Hancock describes his Feelings while confined to the House by 
Fever. — The Entry into the City of Mexico. — Lieutenant Han- 
cock's Letters Home. — End of the War 65 

CHAPTER V. 

PEACE AND A HOME. 

Lieutenant Hancock returns to the Department of the West. — He 
becomes Regimental Quartermaster, and then Adjutant. — His 
Marriage at St. Louis. — The Seminole War. — Brigham Young's 
Declaration of Independence. — Hancock ordered to California, 70 

PART III. — THE PATRIOT. 
CHAPTER L 

THE CALL OF HIS COUNTRY. 

The Fire upon Sumter. — How the News was received in California. 

— Captain Hancock's ElTorts to keep the State in the Union. — 
He asks to be ordered into Active Service 79 



CONTENTS. 13 

CHAPTER 11. 

ON THE PENINSULA. 

The Peninsular Campaign. — Siege and Capture of Yorktown. — The 
Battle of Williamsburg. — Hooker rej)ulse(l at Fort Magruder. 
Hancock turns the Enemy's Flank 85 

CHAPTER III. 

ORGANIZING AN AKMY. 

Hancock again brevetted for Gallantry. — His Work in the Prelimi- 
naries of the Peninsular Campaign, — Military Discipline. — Raids 
upon the Virginia Farms. — Mr. Vollin 94 

CHAPTER lY. 

ON TO RICHMOND! 

The Advance towards Richmond. — Battle of the Chickahominy. — 
Golding's Farm. — Hancock repulses Toombs's Assault. — He 
holds the Enemy at Bay at White Oak Swamp 100 

CHAPTER Y. 

ANTIETAM. 

Pope's Campaign in Northern Yirginia. — Hancock joins in the 
Movement to Centreville. — McClellan's Maryland Campaign 
against Lee. — Forcing Crampton's Pass. — Antietam. — Hancock 
takes Command of a Division 106 

CHAPTER YI. 

FREDERICKSBURG. 

Opening the Campaign of the Rappahannock. —Hancock receives 
his Commission as Major-General of Volunteers. — He commands 
a Division on the March to Fredericksburg. — Hancock wounded, 112 

CHAPTER YIL 

THE CLOVER-LEAF BADGE. 

Cbancellorsville. — " Fighting Joe" Hooker in Command of the 
Army of the Potomac. — Hancock again leads his Division across 
the Rappahannock. — Occupation of Chancellorsville. — Hancock 
takes Command of the Second Corps 118 



14 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER YIII. 

THE INVASION OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

The March to Gettysburg. — Lee resolves upon an Invasion of the 
North. — Hooker's Resignation. — Tlie Camp on the Rappahan- 
nock broken up. — Hancock's Corps the Rear Guard 123 

CHAPTER IX. 

GETTYSBURG. — THE FIRST DAY. 

Meade arrives at Taneytown. — The Advance Guard strikes the 
Enemy. — "For God's Sake send up Hancock." — Meade puts 
Hancock in Command at the Front. — He selects the Battle- 
ground 130 

CHAPTER X. 

GETTYSBURG. — THE SECOND DAY. 

Hancock in Command at the Left Centre. — Sickles's Corps cut up. 

— Hancock to the Rescue. — The Absolution of the Irish Brigade. 

— Fight for the Ridge in Front of the Wheat-field 139 

CHAPTER XL 

GETTYSBURG. — THE THIRD DAY. 

The Storm of Fire. — Hancock's Wonderful Deed of Valor. — The 
Final Desperate Assault of the Confederates. — Hancock beats 
them back. — Struck down in the Moment of Victory 146 

CHAPTER XIL 

THE WOUNDED HERO. 

After Gettysburg. — General Meade's Report. — Hancock's Fight 
"terminated the Battle." — His Opinion of the Battle and its 
Results. — Hancock's Wound. —The Surgeon's Story. — His 
Journey Home. — Invalid Soldiers carry him on their Shoulders 
to his Father's House. — He returns to Duty 154 

CHAPTER XIIL 

IN THE WILDERNESS. 

Grant takes Command of all the Armies. — Hancock leads the 
Advance. — The Story of One of the Gallant Second Corps.— 
Hancock leads the Charge 104 



CONTENTS. 15 

CHAPTER XIV. 

SPOTTSYLVANIA. 

Hancock fights the Battle of the Po. — General Sedgwick's Death. — 
The Bloodiest Battle of the War. — Hancock takes and holds 
the Famous " Salient Angle." — Hancock's Retort 171 

CHAPTER XV. 

A RACE BETWEEN TWO ARMIES. 

Cold Harbor. — The March from Spottsylvania toward Richmond. — 
A Race between Two A rmies. — Hancock finds Lee at the North 
Anna. — He carries the Bridge 179 

CHAPTER XVI. 

THE PETERSBURG MINE. 

Petersburg. — Hancock celebrates Bunker-hill Day. — He leads 
Successful Movements. — His Old Wound re-opens. — The Ex- 
plosion of the Petersburg Mine 184 

CHAPTER XVII. 

LEE AT APPOMATTOX. 

About Petersburg. — Hancock commands at Deep Bottom. — Pro- 
motion. — His Horse shot under him at Reams' Station. — Battle 
of the Boydton Plank-Road. — Recruiting a Veteran Corps. — 
Brevet Major-General for Gallantry at Spottsylvania. —In Com- 
mand of the Middle Military Divison when Lee surrenders . . 190 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

HANCOCK AS A COMMANDER. 

The Love and Admiration of his Soldiers for their General. — 
General Walker describes his Character and Habits. — Custer 
sketches him at Williamsburg.— The Secret of Hancock's Genius, 195 

PART IV. —THE STATESMAN. 
CHAPTER I. 

A WELL-ROUNDED CHARACTER. 

Hancock's Character. — How it developed under the Influence of 
his Career. — A Man of the People. — His Strong Purpose in Life. 
—The Discipline of Army Service. — His Administrative Ability, 209 



16 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER II. 
THE ASSASSINATION CONSPIRACY. 

Assassination of President Lincoln. — Arrest and Trial of the Con- 
spirators. — Execution of Mrs. Surratt. — Charges of Cruelty 
against General Hancock. — Mrs. Surratt's Counsel makes a 
Statement. —Also her Spiritual Adviser. — General Hancock's 
Tenderness toward the Unfortunate Woman and her Daughter. 

— He posts Couriers to carry Pardon 214 

CHAPTER III. 

RECONSTRUCTION. 

Hancock again at the "West. — He is called back to take Command 
of the Fifth Military District. — Sketch of the Progress of Recon- 
struction. — The Quarrel between the Executive and Congress. 

— The South divided up into Satrapies. — Sheridan removed, 
and Hancock called to take his Place 231 

CHAPTER IV. 

GENERAL ORDER NO. 40. 

Hancock takes Command of the Fifth Military District. — His 
Reception at Washington. — The Vast Powers placed in his 
Hands. — His Opening Proclamation. — The Famous " Order No. 
40." — Judge Black's Letter 240 

CHAPTER V. 

THE CONFLICT OF LAW AND ARMS. 

Reception of " General Order No. 40." — Civil Government resumes 
its Sway. — The Laws to be sustained by the Military Arm. — 
The Qualifications of Jurors. —Disposition of Property by the 
Courts. — Registration of Voters 249 

CHAPTER VL 

CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT. 

General Hancock and the Carpet-Baggers. — Governor Pease and 
Constitutional Government. —Hancock refuses to supjilant the 
Courts by Military Commissions. — Riparian Rights not to be 
adjudicated ui^on by Courts-Martial 264 



CONTENTS. 17 

CHAPTER VII. 

THE SUPREMACY OF CIVIL LAW. 

Troops at the Polls. — Hancock's Famous Order. — Hancock de- 
clines to use his Troops for the Collection of Taxes. —The Art of 
Law and of Civil Government. — Hancock's Letter to General 
Howard 274 

CHAPTER VIIL 

RESIGNATION AS MILITARY GOVERNOR. 

The Carpet-Baggers protest against Civil Government. — Governor 
Pease's Open Letter. —General Hancock's Reply. — Congress 
attempts to get rid of Hancock. — Hancock's Resignation . . . 283 

CHAPTER IX. 

IN THE PRESIDENTIAL FIELD. 

General Hancock's Patriotism. — He is sought to lead the Demo- 
cratic Party. — The National Convention of 18G8. — Tilden's 
Nomination in 187G. — Hancock's Letter on the Electoral Con- 
test. — The Cincinnati Convention. — Hancock nominated unani- 
mously. — The Campaign. —Garfield's Election 300 

CHAPTER X. 

SENIOR MAJOR-GENERAL. 

Hancock assigned to the Division of the Atlantic. — Life at Gov- 
ernor's Island. — A Quiet and Honored Existence. — Duties of the 
Senior Major-General. — His Home Life. — Family Bereavements. 
— Death of General Grant. — The Funeral Pageant 

CHAPTER XL 

THE END OF EARTH. 

Last Days. — Hancock's Short and Fatal Illness. — On Duty to the 
Last Moment. — A Nation in Mourning. — Funeral Services in 
Trinity Church. — Return of the Hero to the Home of his Child- 
hood. — The Cemetery at Norristown. — Tributes of Honor, 
Respect, and Affection , » 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAGE. 

Steel Portrait of General, Hancock .... Frontispiece. " 

Hancock's Early Home, Norristown, Penn 32 ' 

Foraging Party 97 >■ 

Antietam Ill t 

Hancock at the Battle of Gettysburg 147 - 

Crossing the Rapidan 165 ^ 

Cavalry Charge 175 v 

General Hancock's Residence, Governor's Island . . 323 ^ 
Hancock at the head of the Grant Funeral Pro- 
cession 333 ^ 

Hancock's Tomb, Norristown, Penn 348 



C, 



l^ 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 



I'.A.ia T I 



BOY AND MAK. 



CHxiPTER I. 

The Hancock Family. — Its Services in the War of the Revolution. 
— Marriage of Benjamin F. Hancock and Settlement in Norris- 
town, Penn. — Early Struggles of the Young Couple. — School- 
Teaching and Law. — Education of the Twins, Wintield and 
Hilary. — Character and Public Services of the Father of General 
Hancock. - 

Early in the year 1828, a little family moved into 
the village of Norristown, Penn., from the farming 
country near by, and set up their modest household. 
This family consisted of Benjamin F. Hancock, his 
wife Elizabeth, and their twin sons. The boys, Win- 
field Scott Hancock and Hilary B. Hancock, were at 
that time four years old. 

Both father and mother came of the farming families 
of Montgomery County. Their English ancestors had 
lived upon the soil in the old country ; their fathers 
and grandfathers had found more bountiful subsistence 
in the cultivation of the broad meadows along the 
Schuylkill and the rich intervales of the new land which 
they had possessed and made free ; Benjamin F. Han- 
cock was himself a farmer ; Elizabeth Hexworth was a 
farmer's daughter. 

It was a sturdy, patriotic stock, and it flourished in 
a section crowded with patriotic memories. German- 
town, Brandy wine, Valley Forge, Paoli, are names 
indissolubly associated with the history of our struggle 



24 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

for independence as a Hepublic ; and it was among the 
associations clustering about these places that the Han- 
cock family grew up. 

These associations, too, were interwoven with their 
family histor}^ The grandfather of Elizabeth Hancock 
was one of the patriot farmers of the Revolution. He 
\von and honorably carried a captain's commission in 
Washington's army, and gave his life for his country, 
dying of the effect of hardships and privations in the 
Ijeld shortly after he saw the land made free for his 
children. Her father, Edvvard Hexworth, although a 
boy in his teens, also joined the patriot army, and 
fought hy the side of his father, returning to enjoy 
the fruits of the liberty for which he had given his 
youthful strength and enthusiasm. He attained great 
age, dying Jan. 29, 1847, upwards of 90 years old. 
Benjamin F. Hancock's father, Hichard Hancock, was 
a mariner. He was captured at sea, and, with so many 
other patriots, was given the choice of service against 
his country in the British navy, or consignment to the 
notorious Dartmoor Prison, whose name was a terror. 
He chose the patriot's part, and did not pass the double 
barricades of that melancholy enclosure until the close 
of the war. On his release, he returned to free 
America. In the war of 1812, when the British ad- 
vanced their troops as far as Red Bank, and the safety 
of Philadelphia and all the towns in that section was 
threatened, Benjamin F. Hancock himself, then a mere 
lad, made one of the local company that garrisoned 
Camp Dupont. 

This was the family whose youngest members took 



WIXFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 25 

up their residence in Norristown in 1828. It was good 
stock, — of the people, of the soil ; it had the traditions 
of earnest patriotism and honest labor; with neither 
crest nor pedigree, it held a place in the peerage of the 
Republic. 

Benjamin F. Hancock, although born in Philadel- 
phia, was brought up as a farmer; and it was while 
farming in the country near Montgomeryville that he 
paid his suit to Elizabeth Hexwoilh, a famier's daugh- 
ter, and won her for his wdfe. Even at the time of his 
marriage he had aspirations for a different career, and 
with quiet earnestness he set himself to accomplish it. 
He had no means of his own ; his support, and that of 
his family, was the income that his own labor brought 
him. Farmer Hexworth was a man of moderate prop- 
erty, comfortably Avell off, but not of wealth sufficient 
to endow his daughter on her marriage. Indeed, such 
was not the custom among the farmers of Pennsylva- 
nia. The man who took upon himself the responsi- 
bilities of marriage was expected to know his ability to 
provide for his own. So the young couple set out in 
life dependent upon themselves, confident and brave. 
The husband, whose education was above the average, 
turned his talent to account in teaching a country 
school. The wife attended to domestic duties. 

Then the children came ; and, under his increasing 
responsibilities, the father was impelled to push for- 
ward more rapidly in the career which he had marked 
out for himself. His ambition was not great ; but his 
purpose was steady : it was to place his children in a 
better position for starting in life than he had occupied. 



2G LIFE AXD PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

This it was that led him to remove to Nonistown, where 
there were opportunities for advancing himself and for 
eduoa(in«; his bo3's. 

In ^'onistown, Avith then* young family, Benjamin 
Ilaneoek and his wife began their new life in a most 
modest way. They were poor; but they both had 
eoniideneo in themselves. The husband continued to 
teach school in Norristown, and meantime studied law 
in (he olHce of «Iohn Friedlcy, Esq. The wife, who 
was a true helpmeet, bravely took her share in the 
work of su})porting the family, and opened a milliners 
store in the house ; turning her talent, taste, and dex- 
teritv to the best account in aid of her hard-workins: 
husband. Benjamin F. Hancock was admitted to the 
Montgomery County bar at Norristown, Aug. 19, 1828 ; 
and, long after this, the wife continued her occupation 
as milliner in i)leasant rooms on one side of the house, 
Avliilc the husband carried on his law business in his 
ollice on the opposite side. 

The Hancock funily prospered, as they must have 
prospered with such earnest endeavor. Another son 
was born. The Vither was appointed justice of the 
peace ; and, while yet young, he began to receive proofs 
of the contidence and respect of his fellow-citizens, 
which naturally followed from his upright life. He 
was a (juiet, unassuming man, of sterling abilit}^ and 
gi-eat integrity. In his profession he was a counsellor, 
rather than a barrister : and he was much souijht for 
such business. Many were the trusts committed to 
his hands ; his character for uprightness standing high 
even in a borough whose lawyers have a proverbial 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 27 

reputation for honesty, and his strong good sense 
findin^'- reco^rnition from all his fellow-citizens. 

One matter in which he took a special and active 
interest was public education. When he established 
himself in Norristown, the free-school .'system was not 
known in the State. Squire Hancock thoroughly be- 
lieved in the system,— not as a pedagogu3, but as a 
practical man who had himself taught children, and 
who tad children of his own to educate. He was an 
earnest promoter of free pul)lic schools ; and, when the 
school' law was passed, he devoted his energies at once 
to the work of securing its advantages for his town, 
and accomplished as much as any other man in the 
formation and arrangement of the school system in 
Norristown. His own boys, whom he was educating 
at a private academy in the town, were taken out, and 
sent to the public schools ; and by example as well as 
by labor he urged the development of the system. 
From 1830 until his death, a period of thirty-one 
year^, he was a prominent and active member of the 
School Board of Norristown. 

Mr. Hancock was further honored by the appoint- 
ment as Collector of Internal Revenue by President 
Johnson, — a position which he held at the time of his 
death. He lived to see his son Hilary established in 
his own profession as a practising lawyer, his son John 
a colonel of volunteers in the war of the Rebellion, and 
Winlield wearing the stars of a major-general in the 
United States army. He died on the 1st of Febru- 
ary, 1867, leaving to his children as the chief part of 
their inheritance the example of an honorable, Christian 
life. Mrs. Hancock survived her husband twelve years. 



2S LITE AKD rUBLIC SERVICES OP 



CHAPTER II. 

Birth and Boyhood. — His Name, and its Influence upon his Career. 
— The School-boys' Train-baud. — Captain Winfield. — The Cham- 
pion of the Weak. — Anecdotes of his School-days. — How he Met 
a Schoolmate in after Years. 

WiNEiELD Scott Hancock, son of Benjamin F. and 
Elizabeth Hancock, was born near Montgomery ville, 
Penn., on the 14th of February, 1824. His name was 
given him, not because of any relationship with the 
general who at that time held so high a popularity, but 
from admiration of the man. The Hancock family, on 
both the father's and the mother's side, had military 
traditions ; and the influence of this may have had 
its efiect in the choice of a name for one of the twin 
boys who came to the young couple that February day 
in the little farm-house in Montgomery County. 

There is much in a name, especially when associated 
with hereditary tendencies ; and it can hardly be 
doubted that in this case the career of the young Penn- 
sylvanian was in some degree determined by the name 
which he bore. It is, of course, natural to expect that, 
after the development of such exceptional military 
genius in the man, incidents of his boyhood should be 
recalled which seem to show that the bent of his mind 
was always in that direction. General Hancock's 
friends and school-mates tell with peculiar zest of the 
school -boy militia that used to train under his captain- 



WINFIELD SCOTT HAI^COCK. 29 

ship. They describe the wooden muskets with tin 
bayonets, the paper hats, and the home-made uniforms 
and flags, that distinguished their soldiery, and recount 
the parades and the drills in which they participated 
under the buddinor commander of thousands. 

But it may be considered doubtful whether young 
Hancock really had any more than the usual boyish 
fondness for military display. One fact, however, is 
quite evident ; and this is, that even at an early age he 
showed the talent for leadership which developed to 
such a remarkable degree in the man. He was not 
only the captain of the school-boys' train-band, but the 
leader in sports, the chosen referee in boyish disputes. 
It was the frequent course, in case of a diflerence 
between the boys, for them to " leave it out to Win- 
field." And Winfield usually settled it with expedi- 
tion, and with a good deal of sound common-sense. 
Gray-headed members of that juvenile militia company 
now relate with a chuckle — as illustratins: Winfield's 
readiness in an emergency — how he quelled insubor- 
dination that threatened to become a mutiny, by order- 
ing the ringleaders to report at home to their mothers. 
Discipline was restored at once. 

The boy Winfield was tall and slim, with no indica- 
tions of his present figure ; and, indeed, he retained 
this physique until after he returned from the war. He 
was sound in body, mind, and morals ; for his home 
was a Christian one, and all the influences about the 
household of the Hancocks were wholesome and manly. 
One of his distins^uishiniic traits was an entire absence 
of fear in doing vyhat he considered his duty. He 



30 LIFE AND PUBLIC SEEVICES Or 

would tolerate no bullying of the smaller boys when 
he was about. As one of his school-mates says, "If a 
big boy undertook to worry a small boy, he'd find 
Winfield atop of him in short order." 

Another story runs thus : There was a tumult among 
the boys returning home from school one day, just in 
front of Lawyer Hancock's office. The scuffle devel- 
oped into a stand-up fight between two of the young- 
sters, which brought Mr. Hancock to his office door, as 
he recognized Winfield in one of the combatants. 

" Come here, my son," called the father, in his inva- 
riably calm manner. 

The boy walked directly up to the office door, and 
with flushed face looked his father straight in the eye. 

"What is the matter, Winfield?" asked Mr. Han- 
cock. 

"That big boy tried to whip me," was the reply, 
" and I wasn't going to let him." 

"But he is a great deal larger than you, my son." 

" I know he is, father ; but I can't let him whip me." 

The boy's persistence in his purpose of establishing 
the principle of equality had, however, to yield to the 
paternal judgment of the fitness of things, and the 
combat was closed then and there. 

Keverence for parental authority was a characteristic 
of young Hancock, and so was filial afiection. His 
mother — whom he venerated through life, and deeply 
mourned when death removed her to rest beside her hus- 
band and General Hancock's only daughter in the quiet 
cemetery of Norristown — used to relate with happy 
pride an incident in point. It was when the twins 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 31 

were yet young that one evening she was left alone 
by the necessary absence of the father on public busi- 
ness until a late hour. She was engaged on some 
household work ; but she noticed that she was never 
alone. When bedtime came for the twins, one of them 
went, the other remained. After the lapse of an hour, 
the one who had been sitting quietly with her left the 
room, and the other came in to take his place. She 
found that the little fellows had, of their own motion, 
decided that mother was not to be left to sit up alone 
all that long evening, and had organized a watch to 
keep her company. One was to sit up the first hour ; 
the other, the next ; and so on. 

Those who knew General Hancock as a boy speak 
always of his generosity as a leading trait in his char- 
acter. There was nothing mean about him. He was 
thoughtful for others before himself. He always wanted 
his friends to share what good fortune he had, — to have 
as ofood as he had himself. This trait remained with 
him throu<2:hout his career, and won for him stanch 
friends in whatever station he found himself placed. 

There is a story told which in a measure illustrates 
this quality, although its most curious interest is found 
in its sequel. A poor little orphan boy came to Nor- 
ristown when Winfield was about eleven years old, sent 
there at the death of his parents to be cared for by dis- 
tant relatives. Winfield, in a manner, took the little 
fellow under his protection. He was the youngest and 
the smallest boy in the school which they both attended, 
and was consequently on occasion the butt of those who 
were inclined to bully or tease. Young Hancock was 



32 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

alrcadj^ developing into a manly boy, and he stood be- 
tween his little protege and his persecutors, fought his 
battles for him, made a place for him among the others, 
and divided with him his not very lavish supply of 
pocket-money in those treats which school-boys delight 
in. This little fellow left Norristown as poor as he had 
come into it, going to Philadelphia to work for his own 
living as soon as he had passed the dependent age, and 
reaching that city with only one cent in his pocket. 
But he was fortunate in finding work, and he worked 
so well at his trade, carpentering, that before long he 
was at the head of a gang of men ; and, to make a long 
story short, in the course of years he accumulated 
wealth, and, going into politics, was elected a member 
of the city council. During the same years, Winlield 
had also grown to man's estate, and made his own 
career in another field ; and it was the little forsaken 
fellow whom he had befriended in his school-days, who, 
in the city government of Philadelphia, introduced the 
resolutions of thanks and welcome to Major-Gen. 
Winlield Scott Hancock, in the name of the city, and 
offering him the use of the historic Independence Hall 
for a reception on his visit to Philadelphia. The 
chances of life had brou2:ht a^i^ain into immediate asso- 
ciation John AV. Everman and Winfield S. Hancock, 
through paths so widely separated since the Norristown 
school-days, It was Everman, too, who, as chairman 
of the committee of the city government, presented 
the engrossed resolutions to his former school-mate and 
champion. 

These recollections of the early boyhood of Vv^infield 




Hancock's early home, norristown, pa. 



WINTIELD SCOTT HAJVCOCK. 33 

Scott Hancock are cherished as precious memories at 
his old home in the Schuylkill Valley ; having little 
value, indeed, in themselves, but serving to bring into 
closer sympathy the hero whom a united country 
honors, with the people from whom he came and one 
of whom he is. 



34 LITE AND PUBLIC SERYICES OF 



CHAPTER in. 

One of Winfield Hancock's Cliiims. — His Home Life. — A Studeut 
in Norristowu Academy. — The Baptist Sunday-School. — A Cadet 
at West Point. — How he was Appointed. — His Class-mates. — 
Courtship and Marriage. — Birth of Children. — Honors received. 

Among the intimate friends of General Hancock's 
school-boy days was Hon. B. E. Chain, now one of the 
leading lawyers of the Montgomery County bar. The 
friendship, which began in boyhood, has continued even 
to the present day ; Mr. Chain having had the settle- 
ment of the elder Hancock's estate, and in other ways 
giving the General and his family the benefit of his 
legal knowledge and business ability. A more vivid 
picture of General Hancock as a youth cannot be found 
in brief space than that which Mr. Chain gives in his 
own words, as follows : — 

" I have known him for over forty years, and, boy and 
man, am glad to claim him as a friend. In 1828 he came 
from Montgomery township, near Montgomer3'ville, about 
ten miles from here, to this town, with his father and mother 
and twin brother, Hilary. He was then about four 3'ears 
old. The family went to reside in a two-story stone house, 
still standing, but very dilapidated. This house at that time 
was one mile west of the town, on the old Ridge pike. It is 
now in the cit}^ limits, near the cemeter}^ He first went to 
school to Eliphalet Roberts, in the academy, which then 
stood where the present market-house stands. 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 35 

•'From my earliest acquaintance with him, we boys ac- 
knowledged him as a kind of a leader. He was quiet, but 
firm, in all he undertook. I remember that his tastes earlier 
ran in a soldierl}^ direction. He used to get us boys back of 
the academ}^, and, improvising cocked hats of paper and guns 
and swords of sticks, put us through all manner of manoeu- 
vres, that to our boyish ideas were the acme of military 
perfection. 

" At that time his father was in poor circumstances, and it 
was a struggle for him to gain sustenance for his family. As 
business improved in his profession as a lawyer, he moved 
into town, and occupied a three-story brick house on Swede 
Street, close to Lafayette Street, having his office in a small 
brick building adjoining. Winfield and his brother, Hilary, 
at that time looked so much aUke that it was hard to dis- 
tinguish one from the other across the street. 

' ' His father and mother were Baptists of the strictest 
school, and kept their children in theh' earlier years under 
the most rigid moral training. The consequence was, that 
up to the time Winfield went to West Point he had no vices. 
He was then in his seventeenth year, was tall for his age, but 
very slender. 

" He never forgot his old friends ; and after he graduated 
he would visit them at times, never assuming any superiority, 
but on the footing estabUshed in the boyhood days. His life 
after leaving West Point has become historical, and needs no 
repetition from me. With regard to his religious predilec- 
tions, he is not connected with any denomination. While 
the General was quite young, his father and mother connected 
themselves with the Baptists in this town ; and the General, 
then a small boy, attended the vSunday-school of that chm-ch, 
his father being the superintendent." 

The a-ttachment of General Hancock for his boy- 



36 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OP 

hood's home was equally sincere. Soon after he 
assumed command of the Military Division of the 
Atlantic, he remarked to a friend, "Now, if the gov- 
ernment will only remove my headquarters to Phil- 
adelphia, I shall be able to realize the desire of my 
heart by making my residence in Norristown, the home 
of my childhood." This was not to be ; but if Gen- 
eral Hancock could have witnessed the universal joy 
that pervaded Norristown, without regard to party, 
when the news was received there of his nomination 
to the presidency by the Democratic convention at 
Cincinnati, he would have realized how fully his feel- 
ings were reciprocated, and how proudly his native 
town watched the brilliant career of the stripling youth 
whom it had sent forth. 

Along the streets, in all public places, in private 
offices, everywhere in and about the town, party feel- 
ing was laid aside, and general rejoicing prevailed. 
Eive hundred guns were fired, the town was illuminated 
in the evening, and the whole population turned out at 
an impromptu ratification meeting. Old men, who 
had almost reached the allotted " threescore years and 
ten," forgot political strife as they shook hands, and 
discussed their boyish recollections of " Winfield Han- 
cock." It was no longer General Hancock to them, 
but old Ben Hancock's boy, "Winfield." The old two- 
story stone house near the Montgomery cemetery, that 
has been in so dilapidated a condition for years that it 
has not been habitable, where General Hancock's child- 
hood days were spent, became at once a place of im- 
portance ; and during the day not a few who had passed 



WINTIELD SCOTT IIANOOCK. 37 

it for years without giving a thought to the old struct- 
ure stopped to gaze upon it. 

Youno: Hancock received the best education that his 
paronts could provide for him ; and he improved his 
opportunities. He was placed at school in the Norris- 
town Academy, where Eliphalet Roberts was his first 
teacher. When the public school system was adopted, 
his father being one of the promoters of the system, 
and also actively engaged in carrying out its opera- 
tions as one of the school board of Norristown, he 
was sent to a free school. 

He was a studious boy, and a bright one ; and, as 
early as his fifteenth year, he was selected to read the 
Declaration of Independence on the occasion of the 
public celebration of the anniversary. 

In the year 1840, when he was sixteen, Winfield 
Scott Hancock received the appointment to the Mili- 
tary Academy at West Point. It was the natural 
course for the career of a boy who, by descent, by 
family tradition, and by native preference, had a 
military bent. The profession of arms was one to 
which he inevitably tended. The appointment was 
made by Hon. Joseph Fornance, at that time repre- 
sentmg the district in Congress. Mr. Fornance was a 
friend of young Hancock's father, respected him as a 
citizen and as a man, knew his struggle to educate his 
boys properly, and saw also in Winfield the evidence 
of a spirit and ability that would do credit to the coun- 
try under the training of the Military School. 

But there is a curious story of the way in which the 
appointment was brought about, which, whether it is 



<J8 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

Vrue or a fable, at least illustrates how comparatively 
jmall incidents may turn the course of events unex- 
pectedly to great results. 

This story goes that at that time there lived in Mont- 
gomery County an ex-member of Congress, whose 
taste for political management, as well as his large 
experience in public affairs, gave him great influence, 
fie was a lawyer and a bachelor ; and, in place of a 
family on which to lavish his affection, he gave it all to 
his j)rofession, to politics, and to a remarkably fine 
borse, which he rode on all his errands of business or 
pleasure over the country. In course of time, the 
horse grew old and stiff, and, to provide his favorite 
with a comfortable maintenance in his age, the lawyer 
presented him to a professional friend in Philadelphia, 
with the understanding that he was to be used only for 
light family work, and to be well cared for. Going to 
Philadelphia some time after, the lawyer recognized in 
an overloaded dray horse, beaten by a cruel driver, 
the pet animal that he had consigned to the care of his 
friend. He at once bought his old horse, and took him 
hack to Montgomery County. 

Now, it so happened that the Philadelphia friend, who 
had so violated friendship and decency by selling the 
gift of the Montgomery County lawyer, to be abused, 
contrary to their understanding, had a son for whom 
he wished an appointment as cadet at West Point. 
Knowing that there v/as a vacancy in Congressman 
Fornance's district, he removed pait of his family into 
Montgomery County, for the purpose of securing the 
appointment as a resident of the district ; and such 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 39 

were the influences he brought to bear that he would 
probably have succeeded, but for the indignation of the 
owner of the horse, whose confidence he had betrayed. 
The latter, as a manner of getting even with him, 
threw all his influence in favor of the appointment of 
^oung Hancock, and was successful. 

This is one of the stories of the region, in relating 
which, as it may have little foundation in fact, we have 
omitted all mention of names. It is on the whole more 
probable that Hon. Joseph Fornance, who knew and 
respected Benjamin F. Hancock, both as a lawyer and 
a citizen, needed no extraordinary inducement or influ- 
ence to appoint his son, so promising a youth, to the 
vacancy at West Point. 

The period at which Hancock was at West Point was 
prolific of distinguished graduates. Among his fellow- 
cadets whose names have become familiar to every 
A^merican citizen, and are known, indeed, through the 
whole world, were George B. McClellan, U. S. Grant, 
.Tohn F. Reynolds (who fell on the first day at Gettys- 
burg), J. L. Reno (who fell at South Mountain), Wil- 
liam B. Franklin, Burnside, " Baldy " Smith, Pleasanton, 
Ord, "Stonewall" Jackson, Longstreet, the two Hills, 
and others. Hancock was esteemed at West Point, 
as he had been at home, and developed military talent 
of the first order. Here it was that he first saw and 
conversed with Gen. Winfield Scott, for whom he was 
named ; and it is said that the veteran soldier found 
much to commend in the stripling cadet. It cannot 
be doubted that his bearing such a name had much 
to do with inspiring Hancock in his career, as it had 
with his choice of a profession. 



40 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

The character of the boy strengthened and devel- 
oped under the discipline of West Point and amid the 
competitors that he there had, and he took high rank 
as a scholar, graduating eighteenth in a large class on 
the 30th of June, 1844, when he received his commis- 
sion as Brevet Second Lieutenant in the Sixth In- 
fantry. 

Of his military career and services, so brilliant and 
so great, we shall next speak. It was while he was 
serving as adjutant of his regiment, then stationed at 
St. Louis, before he had attained full rank as First 
Lieutenant, although he had been bre vetted for gallantry 
in the Mexican war, that he married Miss Russell, the 
daughter of a prominent merchant of St. Louis, in 
1850. The fruit of this union was two children, — a 
son, Russell, named after Mrs. Hancock's Either ; and a 
daughter, who died at the age of eighteen, several years 
ago, and was buried in the family lot in the Norristown 
cemete^3^ Russell Hancock married, and lived on his 
plantation, about one hundred miles below Memphis, 
until his death a few years ago. 

Since his commission in the United States army. 
General Hancock has had no home except where duty 
called him. Once or twice he has hired a house and 
fitted it up for occupancy^ expecting a residence of 
considerable length. But the inexorable orders of the 
War Department have compelled him to break up 
housekeeping, and remove perhaps a thousand miles 
to take charge of a different command. There is no 
home-life for one in the service, except what a conge- 
nial family can give ; and this, it may be said, has been 



WmriELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 41 

General Hancock's good foilune since the day when he, 
as a young lieutenant, plighted vows with Miss Russell 
at St. Louis. He has ever been a servant of his coun- 
try ; doing his duty faithfully and with honor in every 
station, whether of danger or of wearisome labor, to 
which he was called. He early learned to obey ; he 
quickly showed his power to command. As a man, he 
proved himself upright and honorable ; as a citizen, 
he showed himself stanchly patriotic under all circum- 
stances. As a soldier, his name is one of the brightest 
on our roll of heroes. In the course of his career, he 
became the recipient of a service of plate from the 
citizens of Pennsylvania, of a sword from the United 
States Sanitary Commission of St. Louis, and of the 
official thanks, not only of the city of Philadelphia, 
but — the most distino^uished honor that could bo con- 
ferred — of the Congress of the United States. 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK 



:e^ j^:Rrr 1 1. 



THE SOLDIER. 



CHAPTEK I. 

Licntenaiil Hancock enters the Sixth Infantry. — His Serrice on the 
Pi'iins.- - Protecting the Advance Guard of White Settlers. — The 
Outbreak of tho Mexican War. — Hancock's Request to be ordered 
to the Front. — He is sent to Mexico. — His first Experience under 
Fire at Contreras and San Antonio. — He begins to make a Record. 

Lieutenant Hancock entered the army from Yv^'est 
Point, well qualified to develop, under favorable cir- 
cumstanoes, the great talents which he then possessed 
in embryo, and also having within his breast a noble 
ambition to make his name worthy of the parents who 
had reared and taught him. The characteristics which 
have smce made him one of the foremost men in the land 
were even at that time apparent. He was earnest, in- 
dustrious, conscientious, and strongly patriotic. He 
sought duty for the sake of doing it well, and he 
shirked nothing which came to him in the path of his 
profession. The effects of his early training in the 
Norristown home remained with him, keeping him 
iionest, sincere, and true to himself. Cadet-life at West 
Point had not obliterated the home influence, and he 
went into the army with a fresh heart and an earnest 
purpose. 

On the 1st of July, 1844, he received his brevet 
Second Lieutenancy, in the Sixth Infantry, and was 
ordered to report to his command in the Indian Terri- 
tory. The Sixth Regiment was then stationed in the 



46 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OP 

Far West, in the region of the Washita or Red Kiver. 
It was here that he served his novitiate. Settlers neai 
the Indian Territory were then, as now, subject to fre- 
quent alarms ; but at that time, the Indians being 
vastly more numerous, the country comparatively 
vacant of white residents and means of communication 
almost nothing, they were much more at the mercy of 
the savage raiders. The army of the United States 
was almost entirely occupied with the protection of the 
advance-line of settlers as it slowly pushed its way 
across the continent, each year hearing the axe^s ring 
further in the western forest, and seeing the rich prairie 
soil turned in furrows nearer to the setting sun. 

Hostile tribes were numerous and active ; and in 
place of the occasional outbreaks at the more distant 
points of our unsettled territory, which now occur, the 
whole line of the pioneers' advance was constantly 
threatened. 

There was no glory to be gained by service in this 
section. It was the drudgery of army life, one day 
diflering from another by little which can be called in- 
cident. But it is now, as it was in 1844, the school of 
practice to which West Poini; graduates arc sent to 
familiarize themselves with the practical workings of 
the theories learned at the Academy. 

Lieutenant Hancock was for a time stationed at Fort 
Towson, on the Red River of the South, and was then 
transferred to Fort Washita, at that time our most 
western military station. It was here that, on the 
18th of June, 1846, he received his commission as 
full Second Lieutenant. 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 47 

In the mean time, the diplomatic difficulties between 
the United States and Mexico had developed into open 
war. Taylor had made an entrance into the territory 
of the Montezumas, and his brilliant victories had 
aroused the war-spirit throughout the land. Lieutenant 
Hancock had been sent eastward from the Red River 
territory — although the point to which he was ordered 
was then considered far west — and was engaged in 
the recruiting service at Newport Barracks, Ky. 
He chafed under this restraint while the bugles were 
calling across the border ; for he had the spirit of the 
true soldier, which permits no contentment in inactivity 
when his country calls for aid. And when President 
Polk's administration determined to push the war to a 
conclusion, and in November, 1846, ordered General 
Scott to take command and finish the conflict, Hancock 
could wait no longer, but made formal application to 
the War Department to be sent to the front. A lettei 
to his twin brother, written about this time, gives a 
brief expression of his feelings. 

Newport Barracks, Ky., May 5, 1847. 
My Dear Hilary : — I was exceedingly glad to find, on my 
arrival here from Fort Scott, two long and interesting letters 
from you. The only thing that grieves me is, that I cannot 
get to Mexico. I made an application to-day to join the 
army going to the front. Whether the Adjutant-General 
will favor it or not, I do not know, but think it doubtful. I 
am actively engaged as Superintendent of the recruiting ser- 
vice for the Western Division, and acting as Assistant 
Inspector-General ; but though my services are said to be 
useful, I still want to go to Mexico. 

Your affectionate brother, Winfield. 



48 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

Had Lieutenant Hancock's request been refused, or 
had his reo^iment been continued on service alonor the 
western frontier instead of going to Mexico with Scott, 
the career of the young soldier would have been delayed 
in its opening. And, while we cannot doubt that his 
genius and his strong qualities of mind would have 
brought him to a commanding position in time, his 
course would probably have been different, and posvsibly 
with widely different results. 

But he was to have his desire. In June, only a few 
weeks after his desponding letter to his brother, his 
regiment was ordered to join Scott's army in Mexico. 
Taylor had been fighting in a desultory way along the 
border. Scott was to penetrate the interior and " con- 
quer a peace," all in a short campaign of six months 
and five days. Already, on the 9th of March, 1847, 
Scott had landed at Vera Cruz with twelve thousand 
men, under fire and through the surf, without losing a 
boat or a man, and had taken the city and the castle of 
San Juan de Ulloa, with five thousand prisoners. Al- 
ready the army had begun to push toward the interior, 
and the heights of Cerro Gordo had been stormed and 
taken. The gallant Shields, then a general, and Phil. 
Kearney, then a captain of cavalry, had been honora- 
bly mentioned ; Eobert E. Lee, then a captain of 
engineers, was in what Scott called his "little cabi- 
net ; " and Colonel Harney was leading his artillery. 
It was a time when reputations were making rapidly, and 
every young officer's ambition burned to take part in 
the conflict. Then Scott pushed his arms on to Jalapa, 
and thence to Puebla, always straight toward the capital. 



WINFIELD SCOTT IIAXCOCK. 49 

Here it was that Winfield Scott Hancock first found 
himself in service under the veteran soklier for whom 
he was named. Reinforcements, after long delay, 
reached the army of invasion at Puebla. Among them 
was Gen. Franklin Pierce, in command of a brigade ; 
Beauregard and McClellan, both then lieutenants, were 
on the Engineer Corps ; Hammond was an assistant- 
surgeon. In fact, the roster of the little army under 
Scott that met at Puebla contained names that the his- 
tory of the past thirty years has made famous through- 
out the world. Lieut. Winfield Scott Hancock was in 
Colonel Clarke's brigade, the second in General Worth's 
division. 

The advance began on the 7th of August, 1847, only 
three months after Lieutenant Hancock had written his 
doubts of ever being permitted to share in the dangers 
and the glories of this war. Santa Anna had then had 
nearly four months since the battle of Cerro Gordo to 
collect and reorganize the entire means of the Mexi- 
can Republic for a last vigorous attempt to crush the 
invasion. The Mexican general possessed wonderful 
energy, ability, and courage ; and it was no easy task 
that Scott had undertaken, to march his little army 
through a hostile country to the capture of the capital 
city. It is reported of the Duke of Wellington, that, 
having followed carefully on the map the victorious 
course of the United States army up to the basin of 
Mexico, at that point he said ; " Scott is lost. He has 
been carried away by successes. He can't take the city, 
and he can't fall back upon his base." 

On the 10th of August the regiment in which 



50 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

Hancock served crossed the Eio Frio range of moun- 
tains, the highest point in the bed of the road between 
the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. In his account, General 
Scott says : " Descending the long western slope, a 
magnificent basin, with, near its centre, the object of 
all our dreams and hopes, toils and dangers— once the 
^oro-eous seat of the Montezumas, now the capital of a 
great republic— lii'st broke upon our enchanted view. 
The close-surrounding lakes, sparkling under a bright 
sun, seemed, in the distance, pendant diamonds. The 
numerous steeples, of great beauty and elevation, with 
Popocatepetl, ten thousand feet higher, apparently near 
enouofh to touch with the hand, tilled the mind with re- 
liirious awe. Eecoverinof from the sublime trance, 
probably not a man in the column failed to say to his 
neighbor or himself, That splendid city soon shall be 
ours ! All were ready to suit the action to the word." 
Here, in descending the Eio Frio range into the valley 
of Mexico, AYorth's brigade, in v^hich was Lieutenant 
Hancock, was sent forward to lead the way. Forty- 
seven miles in eight days brought the army over a route 
deemed impracticable by the enemy, to San Augustin ; 
and thence the fighting began. A series of brilliant 
events was contested, all in the sight of the city of 
Mexico. Contreras was taken in two days of sharp 
fighting against greatly superior numbers, and then 
came San Antonio, through which was opened the road 
to Mexico. Worth's division had shared the honors of 
Contreras, and to it was also given the work of attack- 
ing San Antonio in front. These were the first 
considerable engagements in which Lieutenant Hancock 



WmriELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 51 

ever took part. It was his brigade which, at San 
Antonio, in the words of General Scott in his official 
report, " turned to the left, and by a wide sweep, came 
out upon the high-road to the capital, cut in the centre 
the heavy garrison of three thousand men which was in 
retreat, drove one portion oif upon Dolores and the 
other upon Churubusco, and, following in pursuit 
through the town, took one general prisoner, five 
abandoned guns, much ammunition, and other prop- 
erty." 

It was a gallant dash, and the young officers of the 
Sixth Regiment proved their mettle. An eye-witness 
describes the scene of confusion as unparalleled. The 
magnificent causeway, lined on both sides with rows of 
stately shade-trees, was filled, as far as the eye could 
reach, with masses of the flying enemy. Cavalry, 
artillery, and infantry were all rushing forward pell- 
mell, amid the shouts of the officers as they gave their 
confused and hurried orders, the rumbling of artillery 
and baggage-wagons as the horses were whipped uj 
to their full speed, the yells of teamsters and thi 
shrieks of the wounded and dying as they were tumbled 
from their saddles by the unerring aim of our soldiers. 

Raphael Semmes, since the notorious Confederate 
privateer admiral, was at that time on the stafi* of Gen- 
eral Worth, and in describing this afiair, he relates the 
following anecdote : " We made a great many pris- 
oners, many of whom threw themselves at our feet in 
the greatest alarm and consternation. I happened to 
witness an amusing scene just as I came out upon the 
road. I saw, lying prostrate under one of the shade- 



52 LIFE AND rUBLIC SERVICES OF 

trees, a remarkably bulky-looking figure in the uniform 
of a Mexican general, and a soldier of one of our com- 
panies standing by him. Supposing the ofiicer to have 
been killed, I inquired of the soldier if this were the 
fact. *0h, no, sir,' said he, ' he is only a little out of 
wind, being a fat man ; I have just run him down.' 
The general afterwards informed me that, in the hurry 
of the retreat, his aid-de-camp had run off with his horse, 
and that this was the cause of his being captured ! — a 
thing which, I suppose, could only occur in Mexico." 



WmriELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 53 



CHAPTER II. 

Battle of Cliurnbnsco. — The Advance upon the City of Mexico. — The 
Bridge at Chiirubusco the Key to the Situation.— General Worth's 
Brigade ordered to carry the Fortification. — Lieutenant Hancock's 
Company Leads the Charge.— The Repulse.— The Tete du Pont 
taken by Storm. — Lieutenant Hancock ^ins his first Brevet for 
Gallantry in Action. 

It was now the 20tli of August, and Lieutenant 
Hancock was one of a victorious army — victorious, 
too, over many times its own numbers — on the great 
causeway leading straight to the city of Mexico. He 
had won his spurs at Contreras and at San Antonio, 
and Churubusco lay right before him, where the great 
battle was to be fousrht. 

The city of Mexico lies in the centre of a basin or 
amphitheatre, whose mountain-rim is about one hundred 
and eighty miles in circumference. It formerly occupied 
islands in the lake of Tezcuco ; but with its spread and 
growth the lake was largely filled up. The legend is, that 
the emigration under Montezuma was guided by the pre- 
diction that the great capital city of their people would 
be founded on the spot where an eagle was found seated 
upon a thorny cactus, grasping a serpent in his talons. 
The wanderers found the eagle thus seated, on an island 
in Lake Tezcuco, and there they proceeded to realize 
the prediction by founding the city of Mexico. Coi-tes 



54 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

found it a great city, the centre of a wonderful pagan 
civilization. He had the ambition to make it a yet 
greater Christian city, in his rough way, tearing down 
temples only to build more magnificent cathedrals. 
But its general topographical features remained un- 
chano:ed. Its streets were not more than four feet above 
the level of the water in the surroundino; lakes. Moats 
and marshy lands, capable of being overflowed at will, 
constituted its best means of defence. Its only ap- 
proaches were over causeways built ages before, and 
perfected as government works in later days. 

It was into this basin that Scott's army had de- 
scended, with the city of Mexico in full view only a 
few miles distant. He had taken Contreras on the 
west, and San Antonio on the east, and Churubusco 
lay at the junction of the two highways, strongly forti- 
fied, from which the great causeway led straight on to 
the city of Mexico. The Ilio de Churubusco runs due 
east, crossing this causeway about two miles north of 
San Antonio. The banks of the river had been artifi- 
cially elevated to prevent inundation, and, like those of 
all Mexican water-courses, its sides were planted with 
rows of mague}^ afibrding a screen to large numbers 
of troops, to which the elevated banks ofiered partial 
protection. South of the stream lay the scattered 
houses of the village of Churubusco, one of which was 
a massive stone convent that had been prepared for 
defence. It was surrounded by a field-work having 
embrasures and platforms for many cannon, its walls 
were pierced for nmsketry, its parapets and windows 
all aflforded good positions for troops, and ammunition 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 55 

to any amount was inside the buildings. Three thou- 
sand Mexican troops occupied this point. 

Another, and more formidable work, was the tele dii 
pout of Churubusco, covering the bridge by which the 
causeway of San Antonio led to the city of Mexico. 
The river was bridged where the causeway crossed, 
and at the approach from the south, this fortification, 
the "head of the bridge," was constructed. It was 
a beautiful field-work, scientifically constructed, with 
wet ditches, embrasures and platforms for a large arma- 
ment. On each side of this formidable fortification 
stretched the dikes, or elevated banks of the river, 
occupied by dense masses of military which had been 
hurried forward by Santa Anna from the city. In 
front, the ground was occupied by corn-fields, with 
strao:2:lino^ fruit and other trees, the corn at that time 
being six feet high, and waving its green tassels most 
invitingly, but treacherously. The ploughed ground, 
though not miry, was heavy, and a network of cross- 
ditches and dikes for irrigating purposes obstructed 
the advance of the attacking force. 

It was against such obstacles, with an army of twent}^- 
five thousand men behind them, that the little brigade 
in which young Lieutenant Hancock fought was led. 
But it was the key to the whole position ; it lay 
directly on the road to the capital ; it must be carried. 

The fuo^itives from San Antonio fell back in a dis- 
orderly retreat upon this position. General Worth, 
knowing that another battle lay in front of him, checked 
the heat of the pursuit, and moved forward coolly. 
As they approached the bridge, the Mexican artillery, 



56 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

which enfiladed the road, and then the musketry, 
opened upon them. The action had already begun on 
the right of the Mexican line, where our troops had 
come up from the west, and a tremendous roar of 
artillery and small-arms was heard from one end to 
the other of the line of battle, extending more than a 
mile. 

The day was perfectly clear ; but the smoke, as it 
arose over the heads of the combatants, formed a deep 
canopy that partially obscured the sun, and reflected 
back the vivid flashes of the guns, as they belched fire 
and iron from the frowning fortification upon the 
advancinsr ranks. 

Then it was that it became the duty of th(^ Sixth In- 
fantry to charge straight through this hell of fire upon 
the works in front of them. The rest of the bricrade 
was ordered to move by the flank, parallel to the road 
through the fields ; the Sixth was ordered directly up 
the road to storm the tete du jyont. 

Lieutenant Hancock's company. Captain Hoflinan in 
command, led this terrible charge. The Mexicans in 
the work, whose attention had up to this time been 
directed to the troops advancing through the corn on 
either flank, seeing the gallant Sixth making this direct 
assault, turned all their guns upon it. Some of the 
men recoiled under the sweeping stroke of the artil- 
lery ; but the officers rallied them, and with a shout 
they again rushed forward. But it was not to be done. 
The awful storm of lead and iron that poured down and 
across that causeway permitted no living thing to stand 
against it. In the words of a stafi* officer's report, 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 57 

"the Sixth Infantry was met by so destructive a fire, 
ripping and cutting its ranks in pieces, that it was 
forced to recoil and fall back ; which, however, was 
done with the coolness of a parade." 

General Worth, who was with the advance on the 
flank, shouted to Lieutenant Hancock's company to 
leave the deadly causeway and incline to the right into 
the corn. Then, while still under a galling fire, they 
dashed past, at double-quick, the deep, wet ditch that 
surrounded the work, and carried it with the bayonet. 
Lieutenant Hancock, by the side of his captain, lead- 
ing his men into the embrasures and over the walls 
without the help of ladders. The enemy could not 
withstand the shock, but gave way ; and in a moment 
more the cheers that rang out gave notice to the brave 
fellows fighting along down the line that the key to the 
battle-field had been taken. A few shots were ex- 
changed, a few bayonets crossed, and the greater num- 
ber fled over the bridge toward the city, leaving guns, 
standards, and prisoners in the hands of our men. 

But the battle was not yet over. It had lasted two 
hours from the time it was first opened by the Sixth 
Infantry to the time when the same regiment, with 
Hancock's company at its head, clambered into the tele 
du pont. It was another hour before the last of Santa 
Anna's twenty-five thousand men were in flight toward 
the city of Mexico. The capture of the bridge deter- 
mined the fate of the battle. AVhen the guns of the 
devoted fortress, which up to this time had not slack- 
ened their fire, were turned upon the Mexicans, a 
white flag was hung out from the convent balcony. 



58 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

The pursuit was continued for more than half the 
distance from Churubusco to the gates of the city of 
Mexico, when it was stopped, by order of General 
Scott. 

It was a costly victory. The loss on our side, in 
killed and wounded, was eleven hundred, of whom 
eighty-four were ofScers. This great disproportion of 
officers was due to the fact that they led, and the men 
followed them. In General Worth's report of this 
battle, he says : " When I recur to the nature of the 
ground, and the fact that the division (twenty-six 
hundred strong of all arms) was engaged from two to 
two and a half hours in a hand-to-hand conflict with 
from seven thousand to nine thousand of the enemy, 
having the advantage of position and occupying regu- 
lar works, the mind is filled with wonder, and the heart 
with irratitude to the brave officers and soldiers whose 
steady and indomitable valor has aided in achieving 
results so honorable to our country." 

It was at Churubusco that Phil. Kearney lost his 
arm ; and it was at Churubusco that Winfield Scott 
Hancock, whose company led that terrible charge down 
the causeway to the bridge, won his first brevet. The 
order from the War Department commissioning him 
brevet First Lieutenant is dated Aug. 20, 1847, the 
day of the battle of Churubusco, and states that the 
honor is conferred " for gallant and meritorious conduct 
at Contreras and Churubusco," — a formula which sig- 
nifies the hiirhest cause for which advancement in rank 
can be conferred. 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 59 



CHAPTER III. 

Molino del Rey. — Situation of Scott's Army before the City of 
Mexico. — The Gates of the City and their Fortifications. — Lieu- 
tenant Hancock again foremost in the Post of Danger. — He leads 
his Company against the Battery at Molino del Rey. — Eleven out 
of fourteen Officers killed. — Hancock saved amid the Carnage. 

The battle of Churubusco was one in which the 
determined bravery of the American troops and thr 
skill of their officers in any emergency were conspicu- 
ously displayed ; for the Mexicans fought bravely 
and like true men, althous^h not even their overwhelm- 
ingly large numbers availed them for success. And, 
moreover, the battle was fought without reconnoissance 
or knowledo^e of the ijround and the obstacles to be 
encountered. Even the subordinate officers showed 
their ability to comprehend the situation and take 
quick and decisive action on the spur of the moment, 
demonstrating not only their impetuous bravery, but 
their coolness and skill in the turmoil of battle. 

And vet another test of the youns: lieutenant's 
(juality was close at hand ; for only four miles distant 
was the city of Mexico, with its outlying fortifications, 
which must be passed, and the citadel taken, before a 
peace should be conquered. 

The armistice to which the combatants agreed after 
the battle of Churubusco, came to an end without any 
definite result from the negotiations for peace. These 



60 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

negotiations came to an end Sept. 6. The United 
States army was then at Tacubaya. It was here that 
Lieutenant Hancock wrote home to his father : — 

Tacubaya, Mexico, Aug. 26, 1847. 

My Dear Father: — I feel thanliful that I am able to 
wi'ite 3'ou from this place. We had to fight desperately to 
get here. It has been the theatre of a sanguinarj^ battle. I 
left off mj' last letter to engage in preparations for it. 

Your affectionate son, 

WiNFIELD. 

The city of Mexico, with its two hundred thousand 
inhabitants, lay close at hand. They could almost 
reconnoitre it with their field-glasses. On the side 
where the United States army was operating there 
were four principal gates, each gate a fortress, and 
each approached by a grand causeway. The ground 
between these causeways was low and marsh}^, and in 
the rainy season, as then, partly inundated by detached 
pools of water, and impracticable for troops. Several 
cross-roads passed from one causeway to another, 
sometimes two or more of these entering the city at or 
near the same gate. These various approaches were 
cut from point to point, and were defended by breast- 
works and artillery. In addition to the batteries 
which commanded the direct approaches, other batter- 
ies were placed on the flanks of these so as to fire 
across the road, and at the same time upon the flanks 
and rear of the first batteries, in case these should be 
carried. The walls of the city were surrounded by 
wet ditches, of great width and depth, intended for 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. (U 

the purpose of drainage, and others crossed and re- 
crossed these. Every foot of the ground at all ap- 
proachable had been taken possession of by the Mexicans 
and fortified with breastworks and artillery. 

Much of this fortification had doubtless been done 
by Santa Anna during the armistice ; and there have 
always been grave doubts as to the wisdom of the 
policy pursued by General Scott in this campaign. 
During his life, party denunciation was bitter indeed ; 
but at this time it is not purposed to discuss the ques- 
tion whether the battle of Churubusco was necessary ; 
whether Scott would not have done better to follow 
Kearney when he led his troopers to the San Antonio 
gate of the city of Mexico ; whether the taking of the 
Molino del Eey was a mistake ; or any other of the 
vexed questions of the Mexican war. The purpose here 
is to sketch those events which marked the career of 
young Hancock in his first campaign ; and glorious 
events they were, considered simply as exhibitions oi 
bravery, skill, and force employed in the service of his 
country. 

It was while encamped at Tacubaya, opposite these 
complicated and formidable fortifications, that the 
armistice was ended ; and at the same time word was 
brouo^ht to General Scott that the Mexicans were mass- 
ing troops near one of the four gates, that commanding 
the causeway from Chapultepec, for the purpose of pro- 
tecting what was supposed to be a gun foundiy. This 
supposed foundry was a range of strong stone build- 
ings, known as the Molino del Key, or King's Mill, 
about one mile north of Tacubaya. It formed the 



62 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

western side of an enclosure surrounding the rock, 
castle, groves, and fields of Chapultepec. The guns of 
the castle commanded the Molino. It was reported 
that the Mexicans had found themselves short of artil- 
lery, owing to the large captures of our troops, and 
that the church-bells of the city had been sent to this 
foundry for conversion into ordnance. General Scott 
decided that it was necessary to destroy this factory of 
arms, and at the same time prepare the way for the 
taking of the castle of Chapultepec. 

As happened so frequently in this campaign. General 
Worth's division was chosen to carry out this dangerous 
and difficult operation. Indeed, the command in which 
Lieutenant Hancock held a commission was especially 
favored with opportunities for distinction in this war ; 
and the youth who, such a short time before, had 
mourned the fate which seemed to forbid his taking an 
active part in the contest, found himself foremost in 
the places of danger and of honor. 

General Worth received his orders on the 7th of 
September. It was to be a night attack, or, rather, 
the position was to be taken under cover of the dark- 
ness and the assault was to be made at daybreak. At 
three o'clock on the morning of the 8th of September, 
General Worth's command was in position and the ball 
was opened by the artiUery. For some time there was 
no response from the castle of Chapultepec, and the 
crashing of the shot throusrh the masonry of the Molino 
del ^v.y was the only answer. But as the line was ad- 
vanced all doubts were dispelled. The location of the 
Mexican battery had been changed during the night, 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 63 

and it now opened heavily upon the flank of the attack- 
ing party with round shot and grape, cutting down 
officers and men with fearful carnao^e. The charofe 
was ordered, and the men, bringing down their bayo- 
nets, rushed straight at the battery, through the storm 
of grape and musketry, driving the enemy from their 
guns and for the moment capturing the position and 
turning the guns upon their late owners. But before 
the guns could be discharged the Mexicans })erceived 
that they had been dislodged by a mere handful of 
men, and they returned to the charge, aided by a 
tremendous lire of musketry from the troops in and on 
top of the Molino, drove out our soldiers and bayo- 
neted the wounded. It was a frightful ordeal, more 
sanguinary than even that charge along the cause- 
way at Churubusco. Out of the fourteen officers com- 
posing the command of the assaulting force, eleven 
w^ere shot down by the murderous fire. 

It so happened that Lieutenant Hancock was in this 
engagement in command of his company, although only 
a second lieutenant, Captain Hofl^inan having been as- 
signed to the command of the Sixth Infantry battalion ; 
and with him, also lieutenants, w^ere Sedgwick and 
Buckner and Rosecrans. 

Decimated but not daunted, this gallant command 
returned to the charo^e ao:ain and as^ain. It was a 
rough and fearful scramble. One party commenced 
tearing down the hacienda with no other implements 
than their muskets ; others thrust their bayonets into 
the crevices of the stone walls and climbed up by them ; 
others fired into apertures or climbed bnjken sheds 



64 LIFE a:n^d ruBLic services of 

that offered a means of access. Finally the southern 
gate was dashed in, others followed it, and our troops 
had possession of the Molino del Key. 

The battle, in which the young Lieutenant Hancock 
led the van of the assaulting party, had been won by 
three thousand against fourteen thousand : but at a 
terrible loss. Of this three thousand, nearly one- 
third were lost under the devastating lire of the Mexi- 
cans. Hancock, while foremost in the light, bore a 
charmed life. The providence that watches over the 
fate of nations had greater deeds for him to do, and 
the scorching tests to which he was put in the bloody 
conflicts around the Mexican basin were touo^henino^ his 
nerves and strenortheninor his soul for the nobler work 
of battling for the Union. 



WINFIELD SCOTT IIANCOCK. 65 



CHAPTER IV. 

Chapultepec. — Hancock describes his Feelings while confined to th© 
House by Fever. — He creeps to the Roof and cheers as his Company 
take the Castle. — The Entry into the City of Mexico. — Lieutenant 
Hancock's Letters Home. — End of the War. 

There now remained the fortress of Chapultepec to 
be reduced before the army marched upon the city in 
the path chosen by General Scott. This fortress stood 
on a rocky and picturesque mound at the head of one 
of the great causeways leading into the city, and com- 
manding the road. The waters of Lake Tezcuco in 
ancient times washed it« base, and before the conquest 
by Cortes it was a favorite resort of Montezuma, who 
had a palace there and was accustomed to walk through 
the cypress groves in his hours of recreation and retire- 
ment. On one side, the hill vfas inaccessible, being a 
sheer precipice of rock. On the other, it was sur- 
rounded by two massive stone walls, with ditches. A 
handsome building crowned its summit, where was the 
military academy of the republic and the citadel of the 
fortress. Half-way up the hill was the Glorieta, a 
redoubt, manned with guns and nearly four hundred 
men. The assault was made on the 13th of Sep- 
teml)er. 

As usual, the Sixth Infantry was prominent in this 
action. Where Lieutenant Hancock was, a letter from 
him to his brother tells : — 



GQ LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES Or 

CiTT OF Mexico, Dec. 6, 1847. 

My Dear Hilary : — I am again made happy by the arrival 
of three letters from home. 

You ask me if I have been in battle ? I answer, proudly, 
yes ! Besides being in several skirmishes on the road from 
Puebla to Vera Cruz, — in all of which I can truly say I have 
endeavored to do my duty, — -it was my part to participate in 
the battles of San Antonio, Churubusco, Molino del Rey, 
and the conquest of the city of Mexico. I only missed the 
fight of Chapultepec by being sick in my tent, and off duty 
at the time. I shall always be sorry that I was absent. I 
was tying ill with chills and fever, directly under the fort, at 
the time the action began. I could not remain still under the 
firing ; but, wrapping my blanket about me, I crept to the 
top of the roof of the nearest house, watched the fight, and 
had strength enough to cheer with the boys when the Castle 
fell. The balls whizzed about me, but I kept my post, doing 
what I could ; and when I learned that the colors I saw 
hoisted on the conquered walls were those of my own regi- 
ment, my heart beat quick at the glorious sight. 

The winter has set in here, and some chilly days are the 
consequence. The summits of lofty Popocatepetl are capped 
with more snow than is usual at this season. No snows, how- 
ever, are on the plains. Here the roads are open and many 
of them beautiful. The Almada, or great square of the 
capital, is far superior to anything of the kind in the United 
States. The carriage road on the outskirts is splendid, and, 
at times, crowded with gay equipages. It is also a fashion- 
able resort for walks. Its age is three centuries. 

Give ray love to father, mother, brother John, and all my 
other friends. 

WiNFIELD. 

General Scott, in his official report, gives a brief and 



WmriELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 67 

vivid description of the assault which Lieutenant Han- 
cock saw from the house-top. He says : — 

"A strong redoubt, midway, had to be carried before 
reaching the castle on the heights. The advance of our brave 
men, led by brave officers, though necessarily slow, was un- 
wavering, over rocks, chasms, and mines, and under the hot- 
test fire of cannon and musketry. The redoubt now yielded 
to resistless valor, and the shouts that followed announced to 
the castle the fate that impended. The enemy were steadily 
driven from shelter to shelter. The retreat allowed not time 
to fire a single mine without the certainty of blowing up 
friend and foe. Those who, at a distance, attempted to apply 
matches to the long trains, were shot down by our men. 
There was death below as weU as above the ground. At 
length the ditch and wall of the main work were reached ; the 
scaling-ladders were brought up and planted by the storming 
parties ; some of the daring spirits, first in the assault, were 
cast down, kiUed or wounded ; but a lodgment was soon 
made ; streams of heroes followed ; all opposition was over- 
come, and several of our regimental colors flung out from the 
upper walls, amidst long-continued shouts and cheers, which 
sent dismay into the capital. No scene could have been 
more animating or glorious." 

The great dependence of the Mexicans had been 
placed upon Chapultepec, which many had believed to 
be impregnable ; and when that fell, the city of Mexico 
fell with it. There were yet batteries to be taken, bar- 
ricades to be passed, and fortified houses to be cleared 
of combatants. But on the night of that day, Sept. 
13, 1847, General Worth's division slept within th^ 
city walls, and on the 14th, the grand entry of the 



C8 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

American army was made. As General Scott says in 
his autobiography: "Under a brilliant smi, 1 entered 
the city at the head of the cavalry, cheered by Worth's 
division of regulars, all the bands playing, in succes- 
sion, 'Hail Columbia,' * Washington's March,' 'Yankee 
Doodle,' 'Hail to the Chief,' etc." The American 
army had dwindled to six thousand by casualties and 
disease ; and these troops entered the city in the un- 
dress uniforms in which they had marched so many 
weary miles, and fought so many desperate battles. 
To behold so novel a spectacle, the various streets 
poured forth their thousands of spectators, and the 
balconies and house-tops were filled with a gay and 
picturesque throng. So dense was the crowd that it 
was frequently necessary to halt until the pressure was 
removed. 

There was no further fighting, except desultory 
efforts of the mob and released criminals to create 
disturbance, which were put down by prompt measures, 
and the army of conquest became an army of occupa- 
tion. A treaty of peace was signed in February of 
the following year. Lieutenant Hancock's regiment 
remained with the rest, and we find him writing home 
his impressions of a Mexican winter : — 

Near Toluca, Jan. 5, 1848. 

My Dear Father : — We have another snow mountain 
overlooking us, the Neviado. When the wind blows from 
that direction it is bitterly cold. But January is the end of 
the Mexican winter. The davs begin to grow warmer as the 
month advances, although the nights continue chilly. There 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 69 

are no fireplaces, and, consequently, no fires ; as we more 
northern born find to our great discomfort. The valley of 
Toluca is most beautiful, and very fertile. Like all the other 
Mexican valleys I have seen, it is perfectly level, as if it had 
once been the bottom of a large lake. Some of these won- 
derful areas look lilie the craters of extinct volcanoes. In 
the valley of Mexico, one of the remaining lakes is twenty 
miles long and fifteen broad. The variety of fruits produced 
here is astonishing. On one of the market days, recently, 
over fifty difierent kinds were on sale. Think of opening a 
fine, fresh, ripe watermelon in the month of January. Love 
to all. 

WlNFIELD. 

In the series of battles which attended the march of 
Scott's victorious army from Vera Cruz to the city of 
Mexico, young Hancock, then in his twenty-fourth year, 
had proved himself a true soldier. The opportunity 
for which he had longed had come to him, and he had 
shown those strong: and sterlino^ traits of character from 
which, in later years, there was to develop the hero 
and the statesman. His name was honorably mentioned 
in the reports, and his gallantry and capacity were 
officially recognized, as before stated, by the brevet 
" for gallant and meritorious conduct at Contreras and 
Churubusco." The brevet commission he received in 
August, 1848, dating from that hot day, one year 
before, when he led his men against the tete du j)ont at 
Churubusco. His native State of Pennsylvania also 
acknowled2:ed his services in a series of resolutions 
adopted by the Legislature, in which his name, with 
these of other Pennsylvania soldiers, was mentioned. 



70 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 



CHAPTER V. 

Lieatenant Hancock Returns to the Department of the West. — He 
becomes Regimental Quartermaster, and then Adjutant. — Hia Mar- 
riage at St. Louis. — Steady Advancement in his Profession. — The 
Seminole War. — Brigham Young's Declaration of Independence. — 
Harney's March to Salt Lake. — Hancock Ordered to California. 

Lieutenant Hancock remained in Mexico to the very 
end of the war, saw the Mexican flag again raised on 
the citadel after the treaty of peace had been succeeded 
by the evacuation, and then returned home with his 
command. 

Then there followed a period of rest and routine 
duties at the western stations. Our western frontier 
was rapidly extending ; more rapidly since the Mexican 
war had opened California to our settlers. And Fort 
Crawford and Jefferson Barracks, where Lieutenant 
Hancock passed the next two years, were becoming 
constantly of less account except as depots. 

June 30, 1848, Lieutenant Hancock was made Reg- 
imental Quartermaster, serving in that capacity until 
Oct. 1, 1849, when he was made Adjutant. He thus 
acquired that practical experience of the duties of the 
several positions which was required to supplement his 
theoretical training. He had already passed the test 
of battle ; he was now acquiring the details of man- 
agement. 

Here he bejran to show evidences of the remarkable 



WTNFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 71 

administrative talent which afterwards distin2:iiished 
him, and which marked him as peculiarly fitted for 
executive duties. General Clarke, under whom he had 
served with such gallantry in Mexico, was in command 
of the Department of the West, with headquarters at 
St. Louis ; and under him Lieutenant Hancock served 
for the next six years, being stationed at St. Louis and 
at Jefierson Barracks, about twelve miles down the 
river. We find him constantly charged with new re- 
sponsibilities, and steadily advancing in the line of his 
profession. He was promoted to a full Second Lieu- 
tenancy, Jan. 27, 1853, and took a place on Gen- 
eral Clarke's stafi*. June 19, 1855, he was appointed 
Assistant Adjutant-General of the Department of the 
West, and served in that capacity until the Seminole 
war broke out in Florida, when he was sent to Fort 
Myers with the rank of Captain and Assistant Quar- 
termaster. 

It was during his residence at St. Louis that Lieu- 
tenant Hancock, on the 24th of January, 1850, married 
Miss Almira Kussell, daughter of Samuel Russell, a 
merchant of that city. 

The service of Captain Hancock in the Seminole war 
was confined to the post of Fort Myers, near St. 
Augustine, where he did quartermaster duty ; and 
at the close of that enterprise, the country having for- 
tunately no use for its army beyond a sort of police 
duty, he was sent with his regiment to Leavenworth, 
Kan., to exert a quieting influence upon the turbulent 
spirits of that era of border ruffianism. 

It was at this time, 1857, that Brigham Young 



72 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

undertook to set up an independent government of 
his own in Utah. The Mormons, under his able lead- 
ership, had conquered for themselves a home in the 
midst of natural difficulties of the harshest sort ; had 
secured a foothold in the centre of the continent ; and, 
if allowed autonomy, they would, in years to come, 
have in their hands the key to all trans-continental 
transportation and travel. This was evidently the 
dream of the far-seeing and hard-headed prophet who 
had led this people out from a land of persecution and 
established a theocracy in the wilderness. As Floyd, 
then Secretary of War, stated the situation in his re- 
port to the Thirty-fifth Congress : " From the time 
their numbers reached a point sufficient to constitute a 
community capable of anything like independent action, 
this people have claimed to detach themselves from the 

bindins: obli^cations of the laws which <j:overned the com- 
es o o 

munities where they chanced to live. They have substi- 
tuted for the laws of the land a theocracy, having for 
its head an individual whom they profess to beheve a 
prophet of God. This prophet demands obedience and 
receives it implicitly from his people, in virtue of what 
he assures them to be authority derived from revela 
lions received by him from Heaven. When he finds it 
convenient to exercise any special command, these 
opportune revelations of a higher law come to his aid. 
From his decrees there is no appeal ; against his will 
there is no resistance." 

Just at this time the people of the United States had 
become thoroughly aroused at the manner in which the 
Mormon prophet was exercising his power. In order 
to prevent the encroachment of " Gentiles " upon his 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 73 

Promised Land, he had even resorted to massacre, either 
by his own men or through his Indian allies ; he had 
refused to yield to the authority of the Federal govern- 
ment in matters over which it had control ; and, in 
short, he had set up as a sovereign monarch in the path 
of our emigration across the continent, to obstruct or 
to favor, as it might please his mightiness. 

Under these circumstances. President Buchanan re- 
solved to exercise the authority given him by the Con- 
stitution and the laws, and remove from the govern- 
ment of the Territory of Utah an of&cial who 
combined in so dangerous a manner the monarchical 
and civil authority. He appointed Mr. Cummings to 
be governor of Utah, in Brigham Young's place ; and 
on the latter's refusal to retire, he sent out a sufficient 
force under General Harney to compel the prophet's 
acquiescence. Captain Hancock was in the command 
assigned to this expedition. 

Although the attempted secession of Brigham Young 
was something like a tempest in a tea-pot, when con- 
sidered in comparison with the greater movement we 
have since seen, it was not then to be lightly treated. 
The prophet's proclamation, as governor of Utah, was 
really a declaration of war against the United States. 
It opened thus : " We are invaded by a hostile force 
who are evidently assailing us to accomplish our over- 
throw and destruction. For twenty-five years we have 
trusted officials of the government only to be insulted 
and betrayed. Our houses have been plundered, and 
then burned ; our fields laid waste ; our principal men 
butchered while under the pledged faith of the govern- 
ment for their safety ; and our fiimilies driven fron« 



74 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OP 

their homes to find that shelter in the barren wilderness 
and that protection among hostile savages which were 
denied them in the boasted abodes of Christianity and 
civilization." Then he goes on to declare martial law, 
and to call upon the people to " stand in their own 
defence." 

It was, indeed, a very pretty little rebellion, as far 
as it got ; and it was only by good management on the 
part of the officers of the Harney expedition that it 
did not go much further. Here, for instance, is a 
sample of the orders under which the Mormon militia 
and guerillas fought. It is an order issued by one of 
the " apostles " in the Mormon hierarchy : — 

Headquarters Eastern Expedition, ) 

Oct. 4, 1857. ) 
To Major Joseph Taylor : 

You will proceed with all possible despatch to the Oregon 
road, near the bend of Bear River. When you approach the 
road, send scouts ahead to ascertain if the invading troops 
have passed that way. Should they have passed, take a 
concealed route and get ahead of them. On ascertaining the 
locality or route of the troops, proceed at once to annoy 
them in every possible way. Use every exertion to stampede 
their animals, and set fire to their trains. Burn the whole 
country before them and on their flanks. Keep them from 
sleeping at night by surprises ; blockade the road by felling 
trees or destroj'ing river-fords ; watch for opportunities to 
set fire to the grass on their windward, so as, if possible, to 
envelope their trains. Leave no grass before them that can 
be burned. Take no life, but annoy them and destroy their 
trains. 

God bless jou and give j^ou success. 

Your brother in Christ, Daniel U. Wells. 



WmriELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 75 

Through this region of fanatical guerillas and into 
the heart of hostile Mormondom the accidents of the 
service took Captain Hancock. When the mission of 
General Harney was concluded, and Brigham Young 
was reduced to at least apparent acquiescence in the 
inevitable, Captain Hancock's command was ordered to 
the Pacific coast. Straight across the continent, in the 
days when the slow-moving ox-team marked the rate 
of the traveller's progress, instead of the lightning- 
express train, he led his company from Fort Bridger 
in Utah to Benicia in California, under the shadow of 
Monte Diablo. It took his command three months to 
make the journey. Thence he was transferred to Los 
Angeles, having been made Chief Quartermaster of the 
Southern District of California. 

It was here that the outbreak of the war of the 
Rebellion found Winfield Scott Hancock. He was 
ready for his country's use. The patriotic soul, the 
native ability, the hard-earned experience were all 
there ; and the opportunity had come. It was for this 
service that his parents had trained him to honor and 
self-reliance in his Pennsylvania home ; that he had 
been tried in the hottest furnace of war in Mexico ; 
and that for years he had been studying the work of 
practical army administration in comparative quiet. 
The providence which directs the afiairs of men had 
prepared in Winfield Scott Hancock a heroic servant 
of the people against their time of need. That time 
had now come. 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK 



r^^ E. T XII 



THE PATRIOT. 



CHAPTER I. 

The Fire npon Sumter. — How the News was received in California. 
— Captain Hancock's Efforts to keep the State in the Union. — He 
at once asks to be ordered into Active Service. — Is commissioned 
Brigadier-General of Volunteers. — The Army of the Potomac. 

The echoes of the cannon-shot fired that Friday 
morning in April, 1861, against the walls of Fort 
Sumter, were heard across the continent. They were 
heard with difiering sentiments among the people of 
California. Southern California, in which Los Ange- 
les is situated, most certainly did not hear these sounds 
of actual rebellion with entire disapprobation. For dis- 
union ideas had propagated quite across the land, and 
on the Pacific, as well as on the Gulf, there were those 
who looked longingly for a Southern Confederacy ; for 
the disruption of the Union ; for the substitution of the 
stars and bars for the stars and stripes. 

It was quite natural that this sentiment should exist 
in California. That State was separated from the rest 
of the Union by the distance of half a continent. The 
means of communication were poor and laborious. No 
Pacific Eailroad put its iron bands across the land and 
anchored the West to the East ; but we were almost as 
two peoples, one in name but divided in sympathy. 

In Southern California disunion sentiment was espe- 
cially rampant. It was not comfortable for a man to 
be known as a Unionist there. That section was ready 



80 LIFE AXD rUBLIC SERVICES OF 

to drop out and join the Confederacy, even if the 
northern part of the State should stay in the Union. 

And here it was that Captain Hancock was stationed, 
entrusted with a vast amount of government stores 
and material, in his capacity of District Quartermaster, 
in the midst of disunion purposes. There was nothing 
covert about the expressions of sympathy with the 
South and hostility toward the North with which he was 
surrounded. Much of the population of California 
came from the South, and its ideas were largely South- 
ern. These ideas were proclaimed without restraint 
and without fear. Popular outbreaks were seriously 
threatened against the authorities which retained their 
allegiance to the Union. The situation in California 
was, indeed, even more critical than in many of the 
border States whose loyalty was most questionable. 
The danger was, that all that immense country, whose 
richness was just developing, would be carried away as 
one of the brightest trophies of the Confederacy. 

The position which Captain Hancock occupied at 
this moment was a most trying one. In case of an 
outbreak, or the success of the secession movement in 
California, his department would be the first to suffer, 
as the supplies under his control ofiered a tempting 
prize. On the other hand, should he weaken in his 
loyalty to the Union, and give even tacit encourage- 
Qient to the rebellious spirit about him, he would find 
himself on the top wave of popularity, and at once a 
hero of the people. 

In this crisis the intrinsic character of the man dis- 
played itself. He declared himself without hesitation. 



WINFIELD SCOTT IIAJfCOCK. 81 

He threw his personal influence, which was great, 
against the rapidly developing secession sentiment; 
and in his official position he was unyieldino-. To 
emphasize his earnestness in the matter, he at once 
applied to the governor of Pennsylvania, his native 
State, for a command in the volunteers then beino- 
raised for service ; and while awaiting an answer to his 
application he devoted himself to encouraging and 
spreading Union sentiments in California. By public 
speeches and by loyal example the young patriot 
labored in the midst of an unfriendly community, per- 
forming services that were of the greatest value in 
retaining California in its place in the Union. Ilis 
course met the approval of the government and of the 
loyal people of the whole country. 

In his course at this time. Captain Hancock was true 
to the traditions of his family and to the teachings of 
his youth. He displayed the qualities of high honor, 
of strict conscientiousness, and of inflexible devotion 
to duty which marked his conduct from his very boy- 
hood days, and which later developed so grandly in a 
wider field. 

In the flurry and demoralization of the opening days 
of the war for the Union, Captain Hancock's request 
for a command in the Pennsylvania volunteers lay for 
some time unanswered. But his was not a spirit to 
brook inaction. With North and South simultaneously 
rising to arms, his impulse urged him iiTcsistibly to 
share the conflict. With the government to which he 
had sworn allegiance in danger, his sword could not 
rest undrawn in its defence. 



82 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

Burning to serve his country in the field, Captain 
Hancock then applied to the Department at Washing- 
ton to be ordered East for active service. It was a 
characteristic course for the young officer to take ; and 
it proved a most fortunate step in his career. Regular 
army officers of undoubted and pronounced loyalty 
were in demand at that time, for the organization of the 
army of volunteers collecting in the several States. 
There was no mistaldng the quality of Captain Han- 
cock's metal ; and General Scott, who had personal 
knowledge of his impetuous gallantry, and his real 
soldierly ability while serving in the sharp and hot 
Mexican war, at once ordered him East in accordance 
with his request. 

The order for his transfer came Aug. 3, 1861, and 
Captain Hancock at once turned over the Quartermas- 
ter's Department to his successor, and started for the 
East, reaching New York in September. Without 
stopping for a moment, even to visit his parents at 
Norristown, although he had then been absent from 
them for more than two years, he pushed straight on 
to Washington, and reported to the War Department 
for active service. 

At this time Captain Hancock was thirty-eight years 
of age. He had served with distinction in the war with 
Mexico and in the eversflades of Florida. He had 
patiently performed the routine duties of the frontier 
posts at the West. He had studied the situation be- 
tween the Union and the seceding States, and had 
definitely made up his mind as to which side called him 
as a true servant of his country. Although never a 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 83 

politician, he was a stanch Democrat by conviction, 
earnest in his support of constitutional government, 
and in every sense a patriot. 

Captain Hancock's eagerness for active employment, 
the unmistakable loyalty of his purpose, his brilliant 
services as a lieutenant, and his soldierly bearing when 
he reported for duty at Washington, brought him prom- 
inently to the notice of President Lincoln, and he was 
at once assigned to the post of Chief Quartermaster on 
the staff of Gen. Robert Anderson, the hero of Fort 
Sumter, who had been placed in command of the volun- 
teer force which he was raisins: in the State of Ken- 
tucky. But fortune placed him elsewhere. General 
McClellan, a fellow-cadet of Hancock, who also had 
won his first brevet in the same battles of Contreras 
and Churubusco, had, in July previous, come into com- 
mand of the Army of the Potomac. McClellan knew 
the sort of men that he needed, and he knew that 
Captain Hancock was one of them. He at once made 
formal application for the commission of Hancock as 
Brifi^adier-General of Volunteers, and his assisfument 
to service in the Army of the Potomac. This applica- 
tion was made unexpectedly to Captain Hancock, and 
without any solicitation on the part of his friends. 
And thus he was placed with the army to whose achieve- 
ments he was to add so much glory, and where he was 
to make the world-wide reputation which now belongs 
to him, as one of the greatest generals of the age. 

The commission of General Hancock was dated Sept. 
23, 1861, and he was assigned to the division of the 



84 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

Army of the Potomac commanded by Gen. "Baldy" 
Smith, lying across the chain bridge near Lewinsville. 
Until March, 1862, General Hancock was engaged in 
the defences of Washington. After that time he was 
in the field. His career as a patriot soldier was begun. 



WmriELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 85 



CHAPTER n. 

The Peninsular Campaign. — Siege and Capture of Yorktown. — Pur- 
suit of the Confederates. — The Battle of Williamsburg. — Hooker 
Repulsed at Fort Magruder. — Hancock Turns the Enemy's Flank 
and Saves the Day. — The Charge Down the Hill. — " Hancock was 
Superb." 

In the latter part of March, 1862, the Army of the 
Potomac, which McClellan had collected and organized 
at Washington, was transported to Fortress Monroe, 
and there began the great Peninsular Campaign, which 
commenced with Yorktown and ended with the terrible 
seven days' conflict before Richmond. This so-called 
Peninsula was the tract of land, low and often marshy, 
lying between the York and James rivers. Yorktown 
lay about twenty miles from Fortress Monroe ; Rich- 
mond about seventy-five miles in a straight line. 
McClellan's army of over one hundred thousand men, 
with animals, batteries, wagons, and all the enormous 
equipage required for such a host, was transported from 
Alexandria to Fortress Monroe, with what a European 
critic has called " the stride of a giant," and with the 
loss of only eight mules and nine barges, and the cam- 
paign was begun in which Hancock held his first gen- 
eral command. 

General Hancock's brisrade consisted of four fine 
regiments, the Fifth Wisconsin, the Sixth Maine, the 



SQ LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OP 

Forty-ninth Pennsylvania, and the Forty-third New 
York. They were well officered and well drilled ; and 
under Hancock's training they soon acquired the steadi- 
ness and nerve of veterans. Even before he led them 
into an engagement, he felt and knew that they could 
be depended upon in any emergency. Nor did they 
forfeit his confidence. He little knew what these regi- 
ments were to do for him. His purpose and aim in 
their drill and tuition were to create an arm for effective 
service in the cause of his country. But it was good 
material with which to work, and he fashioned an 
instrument that was to make his name immortal. 

As soon as Smith's division landed at Hampton, it 
was sent to lead the advance on the left of the York- 
town lines, where McClellan thought he had discovered 
a weak spot, near Lee's Mill. This was a dam covered 
by a battery. Here four companies of the Vermont 
troops crossed the creek, wading breast-deep under a 
heavy fire from eighteen guns, and carried the Con- 
federate rifle-trenches. Failinof to receive reinforce- 
ments, they were obliged to retire. 

In the meantime the army had been feeling its way 
throu2:h the woods, and Hancock's brisrade was sent to 
the right, making a reconnoissance in force and develop- 
ing the enemy's lines in a direction where the Union 
line was not yet complete. The result of this recon- 
noissance, when the attempt to break the enemy's line 
on the left had failed, was to determine General 
McClellan upon taking Yorktown by siege ; and from 
the 7th of April until the evacuation of Yorktown, IMay 
3, Hancock and his brigade were constantly on duty 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 87 

in the trenches or skirmishing with the Confederate 
pickets. 

When, on the morning of May 4, after heavy can- 
nonading by the Union batteries, it was found that the 
Confederate works were deserted, there began a race 
along the roads leading to Richmond, after the flying 
«nemy. They caught up with them at Williamsburg, 
where the rebels had built another line of fortifications, 
extending almost entirely across the Peninsula from 
river to river. Eain came on and rendered the roads 
almost impassable. General Hooker took up position 
on the left and made an ineffectual attempt to capture 
Fort Maofruder at that end of the line. He was forced 
to withdraw, with the loss of seventeen hundred men. 

Now came the first opportunity for Hancock to dis- 
play those qualities of generalship which he possessed, 
and to leap at once to fame as a patriot soldier. All 
before this had been sldrmishing. He was now to do 
a deed of war. 

Smith's division, occupying a position on the right of 
our line, had not engaged the enemy. But, towards 
noon of May 5, General Hancock obtained permission 
to reconnoitre the Confederate left. Taking two addi- 
tional regiments and two light batteries, he moved a 
mile or more to the right, carefully feeling the strength 
of the enemy. Coming to an opening in the woods, 
he saw before him a deep ravine with a dam across it, 
and on the opposite bluff a rebel fortification, the 
extreme left of the line of works. A glance was 
enough to show that it was not strongly manned. The 
word was given, the troops poured across the old mill 



88 LIFE ANT> PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

bridge and dam, swarmed up the bluff and captured 
the redoubt. With equal expedition a road was made 
for the artillery, which was speedily dragged across. 
Twelve hundred yards in advance was another re- 
doubt, which was taken in the same manner. 

It was a masterly stroke, and one w^hich proved of 
the first importance in the battle of Williamsburg. 
By one quick movement, Hancock had turned the 
enemy's flank and debouched upon his rear ; and un- 
less he could be stopped and driven back, the whole 
Confederate line would be untenable. 

When Hancock formed his brigade in line of battle 
within the enemy's fortifications on the crest of the hill 
which he had seized, and brought up his artillery, he 
found there were two more redoubts between him and 
Fort Magruder and directed his fire upon these. Send- 
ing his two batteries to the front, he began im artillery 
duel. But the situation was a dangerous one. Han- 
cock's little command was shut ofi* by a deep and 
almost impassable ravine from the rest of the troops, 
while in front was the whole rebel army, an overwhelm- 
ing: force. He sent for reinforcements, but none came. 
On the contrary, he received orders to retire. But 
Hancock, realizing the commanding importance of the 
position he had taken, delayed as long as possible exe- 
cuting the order from General Sumner. He knew that, 
with adequate support, the Confederate army was at our 
mercy. 

It was not until five o'clock that he gave the com- 
mand to fall back. Then, the rebel General Johnston 
had finished with Hooker at Fort Mao^ruder, and was 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 89 

making preparations to avei-t the danger on his left 
flank by overwhelming Hancock's audacious advance. 
Hancock saw that the Confederates were in motion on 
his front, and that they had reoccupied the two redoubts 
from which they had last been driven ; but hardly had 
he called back his batteries from their advanced position, 
when, with a tremendous cheer, Early's troops poured 
out of the woods on his right, and formed in two 
splendid lines of battle, advancing rapidly. 

Tliis was, perhaps, the most critical point of Han- 
cock's military career. He had ventured all on this, his 
first really important separate movement in the cam- 
paign. He had led his brigade into a position where 
it was confronted by a vastly larger force, with the 
road of retreat cut off. Retreat, indeed, could mean 
nothing but rout, overthrow and capture ; and with 
this, a shock to his rising reputation from which it might 
never recover. On the other hand, victory against 
such odds meant immediate fame. 

If he could trust his men, he might yet wan. He 
could trust them. More than that, they could trust 
their commander. They stood firm. 

Hancock formed his line, as Early's troops marched 
on with shouts. He had about sixteen hundred men. 
His two batteries played upon the advancing Con- 
federates, but without checking their onset. Forward 
they came, regardless of shell, and hardly stopping 
for canister, swept around and almost enveloped the 
artillery, which turned quickly, rattled up the hill, and 
went into battery again upon the slope. Backward the 
brigade retreated slowly, firing steadily as if at practice- 



90 LIFE AND rUBLIC SERVICES OF 

drill. Now the impetuous charge comes nearer, and 
the taunting shouts of Early's men are heard above the 
crack of the rifles : "Bull Euu ! Bull Run ! That flag 
is ours ! " 

Hancock had been sitting on his horse close behind 
the centre of the line, watching with impenetrable face 
the phases of the action. What he thought at this 
supreme moment, no one can tell. What he did the 
world knows. 

The yelling Confederates, in double line, were swarm- 
ing up the slope of the hill on which his little brigade 
was drawn up. The flush of anticipated victory was 
upon every face of that advancing multitude ; the tone 
of victory was heard in every voice. They were within 
thirty yards when Hancock, waving his hat in his hand, 
dashed forward in front of his men, and shouting, 
" Gentlemen I charge ! " led the advance, bare-headed, 
down the hill and upon the enemy. 

It seemed madness to attempt to turn back the mass 
that was sweeping up the hill. There it was, surging 
upward, vast, irregular, apparently irresistible, so near 
at hand that the men on either side could see the 
features of their opponents. But Hancock knew his 
own power and the power of his men. It was not a 
mad venture ; it was a triumph of personal courage, and 
of that military genius which divines by instinct when 
safety lies in rashness, 

Hancock risked his own life and the lives of his men ; 
and he won the day. At one instant the bristling and 
grisly line of the Confederate charge was in front of 
the brigade ; the next there flashed between them and 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 91 

the line this vision of valor incarnate ; and with a shout 
that drowned the crackling of musketry his men 
followed where Hancock led. With lowered bayonets, 
and with line as perfect as if on parade, the brigade 
advanced. 

The rebel line faltered, stopped, turned with a com- 
mon impulse and slowly retreated down the hill before 
this gallant onslaught. They were not cowards ; they 
only lacked the inspiration of such a leader as Hancock. 
They were, indeed, brave men. This was one of the 
few occasions during the war where bayonet-wounds 
were received in an actual charge of infantry. It is in 
official evidence that Hancock's men were obliged to 
bayonet the foremost of their assailants before the line 
broke. 

Down the hill they went, the martial figure of Hancock 
on his horse marking the point where the hostile forces 
were joined in combat. They fought well and des- 
perately, leaving five hundred corpses on that hillside. 
Others held up white handkerchiefs and surrendered. 
Of Hancock's little brigade, one hundred and twenty- 
nine were killed. 

Then it was that reinforcements were sent to Han- 
cock. General McClellan, arriving at the front, ap- 
preciated the value of the position taken by Hancock, 
and immediately ordered that he should receive the 
support he had asked for. 

By this time it was night. The firing in front of 
Fort Magruder had ceased, and the troops, wet, tired, 
and hungry, slept on their arms in the mud. But AVil- 
liamsburg was won. Hancock, in his first engagement 



92 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

as a general commander, had by one bold and masterly 
movement seized the key of the position ; by his fiery 
personal valor he had snatched victory out of the jaws 
of defeat, and had turned disaster into glorious success. 

Leavinof the srround covered with their dead and 
wounded, the Confederates hastened away under cover 
of the night to join the rest of Johnston's army, now 
marching rapidly towards the Chickahominy. Hancock 
had made Williamsburs: untenable. 

This was Hancock's first glory ; and it was a sub- 
stantial one. In that single day he rose from an 
obscure subordinate officer to a general whose name 
and whose praises w^ere heralded from Maine to Cali- 
fornia. His opportunity had come, and he had seized 
it. He had won a national reputation. 

Few of the generals of the Army of the Potomac, 
if any, would have taken the chances which Hancock 
took when he moved his little brigade across the ravine 
to flank the whole rebel army. But it was not reck- 
lessness wdiich led him to take this chance. It was the 
ready judgment of the trained leader which gave him 
that prescient knowledge which passes for good for- 
tune. Hancock knew what he could expect from his 
men, and he had confidence in himself. He was not 
disappointed, nor did he disappoint the country whose 
anxious attention was then centred upon the advance 
of the army of the Potomac up the Peninsula. 

In his telegraphed report of this battle, made to 
President Lincoln, General McClellan said : ** Hancock 
was superb." All who saw his tall figure dashing down 
the hill, leading his troops against the advancing army 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 93 

of Early and Longstreet, acknowledge the accuracy of 
this description. In his more detailed and formal ac- 
count of the battle, McClellan says : " Before Generals 
Smith and Nagle could reach the field of General 
Hancock's operations, although they moved with great 
rapidity, he had been confronted by a superior force. 
Feigning to retreat slowly, he awaited their onset, and 
then turned upon them, and after some terrific volleys 
of musketry, he charged them with the bayonet, rout- 
ing and dispersing their whole force, killing, wound- 
ing and capturing from five hundred to six hundred 
men, he himself losing only thirty-one men. 

" This was one of the most brilliant engagements of 
the war, and General Hancock merits the highest praise 
for the soldierly qualities displayed and his perfect 
appreciation of the vital importance of his position." 

The troops with which General Hancock achieved 
this brilliant success were the Seventh Maine and 
Thirty-third New York from Davidson's brigade, which 
was unde: Hancock's command at that time, and the 
Sixth Maine, Forty-ninth Pennsylvania, and Fifth 
Wisconsin, detailed from his own brigade. 



94 LIFE A^^D PUBLIC SERVICES OF 



CHAPTER III. 

Hancock again Brevetted for Gallantry. — His Work in the Prelimina- 
ries of the Peninsular Campaign. — His Care of his Men. — Military 
Discipline. — Skirmishing and Foraging. — Raids upon the Virginia 
Farms. — The Foragers' return to Camp with Spoils of War. — ^ 
Mr. Vollin. — Capturing a Sleeping Beauty. 

It was for the bravery and skill shown in these 
earlier battles of the Peninsular Campaign that General 
Hancock received the brevet rank of Major in the 
regular army. Indeed, his merit and his capacity were 
promptly recognized at the War Department ; and the 
honors which the regular service confers only for sub- 
stantial achievements came thick and fast. Before 
the campaign was over, Hancock had received his tliird 
brevet since Churubusco, and held the honorary rank 
of Colonel in the United States army. 

During his early connection with the Army of the 
Potomac, he was a husy commander. All his energies 
were taxed to their utmost to prepare his troops for 
active duty ; and how well this was done, their valiant 
service in critical periods subsequently testified. With- 
out effective troops, Hancock could never have won 
the wonderful successes that he did ; witliout Hancock's 
faithful and skilful labor, his troops could never have 
been brought to such a degree of efficiency. 

He was a strict disciplinarian, but nothing of a 
martinet. He exacted from those under him the same 



WLNTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 95 

implicit and prompt obedience to orders which he him- 
self rendered to his superiors ; but he was, at the same 
time, the kindliest, most sympathetic, and most inspir- 
ing of commanders. All who served under him came 
to love and even worship him, such was the admiration 
he excited ; his subordinates prized his smile as highly 
as they dreaded his reproof. 

That part of Virginia in which the Army of the 
Potomac was operating was aflame with rebellion. 
There, too, the first pinching necessities of the war 
were felt. The country was transformed into a camp, 
where every male capable of bearing arms was held to 
be a soldier, and every crop was regarded as pledged to 
the support of the Southern troops. Parties of the 
Confederate cavalry scoured the country for recruits 
and for provisions. Every farm-house was an outpost 
of the enemy, or even an arsenal. Every tramp was 
a spy in disguise. Every bush might afford conceal- 
ment for a sharp-shooter. 

It was a desultory sort of warfare during the earlier 
part of the campaign, but not devoid of incident. A 
few weeks after General Hancock had assumed com- 
mand of his brigade at the front, a scouting-party, sent 
out alono^ the roads leadinsr to Fairfax Court House and 
Hunter's Mills, encountered an equal number of Con- 
federate cavalry on similar business. They immedi- 
ately gave chase, the rebels taking to the woods. In 
the hurry of the pursuit, while passing through a fruit- 
orchard, they did not observe that one of the rebels 
had dismounted and concealed himself behind a tree ; 
whence, resting his revolver against a branch, he fired 



90 LIFE AND PUBLIC SEIIVICES OF 

three shots at the Major commanding the Union scouts. 
The luiUets missed their mark. But Avhen, returning 
from tlieir unsuccessful pursuit of tlie rebels, they 
found this man endeavoring to make his escape, they 
"gathered him in," as the army phrase was, and 
1)rought him before the General at headquarters. Han- 
cock at once recognized him as a notorious spy, through 
whose successful operations in our lines the enemy had 
received important and damaging information. 

"Your name is Vollin, 1 believe?" inquired the 
General. 

"Yes, sir," answered the spy, taken off his guard by 
the quick recognition and sharp interrogatory. 

" Ah ! Mr. Vollin, I am glad to see you ; we have 
been looking for you for some time." 

Vollin was not loni2: left in doubt as to the conse- 
quences of his actions. Plancock was never cruel ; but 
be was uniiinchins: in executins: the laws of war. 

" You are aware of the fate prescribed for spies, Mr. 
Vollin ? " continued the General. 

" I suppose I am," stammered the unfortunate fellow. 

" Then you will please i)repare for it at your earliest 
convenience. Good morning, sir." 

The Maine and WisconsiH men in Hancock's brigade 
possessed a wonderful talent for the somewhat diffi- 
cult and delicate work of procuring supplies. The 
army, to a consideral)le extent, subsisted upon the 
country. To l)e sure, the Confederate troops scoured 
it pretty thoroughly ; and they had this advantage — 
that the Virginia farmers of that section were Southern 



TTINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 97 

patriots, not Northern ones, and were more readily 
induced by them to contribute of their stores. 

But Hancock's men were active. They were largely 
country-bred, and knew by instinct where the poultry 
and the live-stock would be found, even amid the 
unfamiliar surroundings of a Virginia farm. This 
instinct they cultivated by constant forays from camp 
through the farms for miles around, bringing in hay, 
corn, sheep, and beef-cattle as spoils of war for the sub- 
sistence of the invaders. Nor were delicacies wanting. 
The entrance into camp of a returning foraging party, 
with chickens dangling by the legs from their musket- 
barrels, with pigs thrown across their saddles, and 
with shirt-fronts decorated with fresh vegetables, or 
bulging with carefully-carried eggs, would be greeted 
with shouts of admirinof merriment. 

It was fun and food to our men ; it was anything but 
that to the poor farmers who found themselves by mis- 
fortune occupying a middle position between two con- 
tending armies, each with an inordinate appetite for 
fresh meat and early vegetables. They were robbed 
on both sides. One party took their bacon in the name 
of Southern patriotism ; the other carried off their beef 
in the name of Federal supremacy. Between the two, 
they were impoverished and ruined. Plere at the 
North, hard as we thought the war to be, we knew 
nothing of its real and necessary cruelties. But, for 
all that, it is doubted whether the most delicate produc- 
tions of our most artistic cooks ever had the flavor of 
one of these lean and scrasTiry stolen Viro^inia chickens, 
speared with a bayonet and broiled on a ramrod. 



98 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

Southern historians state that at even this time Lee's 
army was reduced to great extremity ; that there was 
seen the day when the Confederate chief had neither 
the means to cook the next meal for himself, nor to 
serve the next ration to his soldiers. Laro^e foraofinfic 
parties were sent out, and as these frequently met those 
of the Union army on the same errand, some important 
skirmishes resulted. It was on one of these occasions 
that Ord met Stuart and routed his four regiments and 
a six-gun battery. 

General Hancock's britrade also took part in the fre- 
quent reconnoissances that Avere required at this time, 
often taking on the form of a considerable march, and 
usually involving a skirmish which sometimes had 
almost the character of a battle. 

On one of these occasions, after a detachment of 
Hancock's command had driven a small body of Con- 
federates across the York Ri^er, they proceeded, under 
orders, as usual in such cases, to search the neighbor- 
ing houses, all being presumptively occupied by rebel 
sympathizers, and possibly having granted shelter to 
some of the enemy. As the men entered one of these 
houses, they were accosted by the housewife : 

" What do you want ? " 

"We are lookins: for Johnnies, madam." 

"Well, there ain't none in this house, an' you better 
clear out quick." 

"It is our orders to search every house, madam, and 
we cannot leave until we have searched yours." 

" Search my house I I'd like to see Yankees do 
that ! " 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 99 

'* You shall have that pleasure," was the reply, as 
some of the troops went down cellar, and others ex- 
amined the ground floor. 

" Now we will go up stairs," said the officer in com- 
mand. 

" Well, if jou will, you must. But you won't iind 
nobody up there but a poor old sick one." 

" Is it a sick man ? " 

"No, it ain't. It's my husband's aunt Betty; been 
sick going on ten years." 

"Where is she?" 

"Up chamber there." 

Up they went, and there, as the woman said, they 
found a bed-ridden crone. But the form wjiich the bed- 
clothes outlined was more extended and ample than 
the shape of an old woman woukl warrant ; and mod- 
estly turning down the coverlet, they disclosed an 
armed Confederate, lying at length with his boots on. 
The boys named him at once the " Sleeping Beauty," 
and gathered him in. 

Hancock's brigade, during the preliminary week of 
the Peninsular Campaign, bore its share of the labors, 
and claimed its share of the s[)orts and humors of the 
camp, the march, and the foray ; and it was in splendid 
condition when its gallant leader took it into battle. 
Such a test as that at Williamsburg could be succeSvS- 
fully l^orne only by troops who had learned to have 
confidence in their commander, and who had by him 
been brought to a high state of military efficiency. 



100 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 



CHAPTER IV. 

The Advance toward Richmond. — General Hancock's Letter to his 
Mother. — Battle of the Chickahominy. — Golding's Farm. — Han- 
cock repulses Toombs' Assanlt — Ho holds the Enemy at Bay at 
White Oak Swamp. — The Seven Days' Retreat to Harrison's 
Landing. 

Hancock having decided the day at Williamsburg, 
and turned the enemy in flight toward Richmond, the 
advance of McClellan's grand army was made with 
such rapidity as the horrible condition of the roads 
would permit. Those who have experienced it do not 
need to be told what Virginia nmd is. Those who 
have not known it by experience can never realize it 
by description. It is deep, treacherous, and tenacious. 
It pervades everything. To walk in it is a toil of Her- 
cules. To ride is a constant misery. To drive a 
vehicle is to plough through sticky soil to the depth of 
the axles. 

Through this mud, reinforced by the heavy rains of 
the season, the Army of the Potomac was advanced 
alonof the line of the retreatinor Confederates. A base 
of supplies was established at White House, on the 
Pamunkey River, and, slowly repairing the line of tlie 
York River and Richmond Railroad, the column was 
pushed on in that section. By the 21st of May they 
had reached the Chickahominy River, behind which 
Johnston had retired with the purpose of making an 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 101 

aggressive demonstnition at this point, with all the force 
he could command from Richmond. We find General 
Hancock writing: home about this time : — 



'O 



In Camp neak Richmond, ) 
May 23, 1862. j 



My Dear Mother : — I wi^ote to father a few days ago. 
It has been some time since I heard from him or you. I pre- 
sume some of 3^our letters have missed me in consequence of 
the changes of the field. 

I am well, and so also is brother John. We are not in 
Richmond j^et ; but trust we shall be there, all in good time. 

I hope that God in his good mercy wiU permit both your 
sons to reach that city in safety and in honor. 

I have not much time to wi'ite. Give my best love to 
father ; and beheve me. 

Your devoted son, 

Winfield S. Hancock. 

Here the tide of war took a turn. The country just 
beyond the Chickahominy was the limit of the advance 
of the Union arms in this direction toward Richmond. 
From May into June there were sldrmishes, demonstra- 
tions, and slow manoeuvres ; toward the end of June 
came the famous "seven days" and the retreat. In all 
these movements, Hancock fought among the foremost. 
His brigade continued in General Smith's division, now 
a part of a new provisional army corps, in command of 
Gen. W. B. Franklin, posted on the right of the main 
body. In the pestilential swamps of the Chickahominy 
his labors were arduous ; and, sharing the dangers and 
fatigues of all the principal attacks, he rendered impor- 



102 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

tant aid in the retreat, by conducting the safe with- 
drawal of the men under his command. 

The battle of the Chickahominy, June 27, was fol- 
lowed by the engagements of Golding's Farm, Savage 
Station, White Oak Swamp, and the retreat to Harri- 
son's Landing, on successive days. General Hancock 
was prominent in all these fights, his brigade usually 
occupying the post of danger, and gaining new honors 
for bravery and persistence. 

At Golding's Farm, Hancock sustained and repulsed 
an attack of the enemy in force. The closing part of 
the fight showed on Hancock's part the tactics which he 
practised first at Williamsburg, and for which he 
became famous. That is, he held his position tena- 
ciously until the critical moment in the attack of the 
enemy arrived, and then carried demoralization before 
him by an impetuous charge. The best and most 
thoroughly disciplined troops can hardly stand under 
such a stroke ; but to accomplish this movement, it is 
necessary that the commander should have the full con- 
fidence of his men. The secret of gaining and holding 
this confidence was possessed by Hancock. It was that 
the commander should share the peril of his troops and 
be seen by them. When a brigade commander, he was 
always among his men, riding up and down close behind 
his line of battle, encouraging them by voice and 
example, and not only sharing their danger, but tak- 
ing yet greater risk than that to which he required 
them to expose themselves. As he rose in rank, he 
continued the same practice, trusting less to his aids 
than perhaps any other general officer, but pushing his 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 103 

orders through his personal presence, here, there, and 
everywhere over the field. He was always at the criti- 
cal point at the critical moment, and his troops always 
knew that they were fighting under the eye of a com- 
mander who did not know what fear was, and who 
would tolerate it in no one else. 

In illustration of this trait of character, the story is 
told of one of his subordinate oflicers, who, when he 
had his men in a tight place, rode up to the General, 
and said : 

"General, my men are all being killed; may I not 
withdraw them a little out of the fire ? " 

"No," replied Hancock, "I hope we shall be able to 
advance soon." 

"Then we shall all be killed," despondingly replied 
the officer. 

"Very well," said Hancock, "return to your troops, 
and if you fall you will have the satisfaction of know- 
ing you have died for your country." 

The fight of Golding's Farm was remarkable from 
the fact that it extended into the night. The scene of 
the contest, with the opposing forces blazing away at 
each other at close quarters all along the line, is 
described as one of the finest spectacles of the war. 

It was now no longer a question of taking Richmond, 
but of making a safe retreat to the James River, with a 
victorious enemy in the rear ; and the metal of Hancock 
and his troops was tested under these most trying cir- 
cumstances. The next assault which he had to sustain in 
protecting the rear of the retreat, was at Garnett's Hill. 
It was the purpose of the Confederates to force him 



104 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

back and separate his command from the main body of 
the army. The attack was opened with a heavy artil- 
lery fire of grape, shell, round shot, and shrapnel ; suc- 
ceedinir which, General Toombs led the assault of five 
regiments of Confederate infantry upon Hancock's 
force. The fi2:ht became almost hand to hand. It 
was short and sharp, and ended in repulse of the Con- 
federates. On the following morning, Toombs returned 
to the attack, but was again repulsed with heavy loss, 
Hancock holding the enemy in check at this point until 
he was able to make connection with the remainder ot 
his division. The day after, June 29, he was engaged 
in similar hot work at Savage Station. 

The line of retreat to the James passed across White 
Oak Swamp, and Keyes' corps, which w^as in advance, 
had made the passage on the 28th, followed by the long 
train of five thousand wagons, and twenty-five hundred 
beef-cattle, all of which had to cross the morass by 
one narrow defile. 

Hancock's brigade had to protect this passage from 
the assault of the Confederate troops, hurried forward 
and massed in the rear of the retreating army. Sixty 
pieces of rebel artillery were posted on the other side 
of the ravine, whose opposite bank Hancock occupied, 
and poured their fire upon his men. The Confederate 
position could not be attacked, and no reply could bo 
made to this terrible bombardment, except by two or 
three of the Union batteries. Hancock's men, more- 
over, had for three days been marching by night and 
fighting by day, and were worn out by fatigue and loss 
of sleep. In such circumstances the best troops ar^ 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 105 

liable to give way under the demoralizing effect of a 
heavy, concentrated, and continuous fire of artillery ; 
and the fact that these troops endured it without flinch- 
ing, told volumes of their bravery and discipline. Han- 
cock held his position throughout the day, sustaining 
the artillery fire and repelling the attacks of the infan- 
try, until the last wagon of the immense train of the 
retreating army was safely across the swamp. 

In the same arduous services General Hancock con- 
tinued until the Peninsular Campaign came to an end, 
four days after, by the arrival of McClellan's army at 
Harrison's Landing. He had mounted another step on 
the ladder of patriotic fame, and won his brevet of 
Colonel in the regular army " for gallant and meritori- 
ous conduct in the Peninsular Campaign." 



106 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 



CHAPTER V. 

Pope's Campaign in Northern Virgiaia. — Hancock joins in the Move- 
ment to Centreville. — McClellan's Maryland Campaign against 
Leo. — Hancock at Sontli Monntain. — Forcing Crampton's Pass. — 
Antietam. — Hancock takes Command of a Division. — His First 
Connection with the Second Army Corps. 

The Army of the Potomac having returned from its 
unsuccessful attempt to reach Richmond by forcing its 
path up the Peninsula, the following month of August 
was chiefly occupied w^ith auxiliary operations. General 
Pope's campaign in Northern Virginia, so weak and 
disastrous, covers most of the military events of this 
month. General Hancock took a subsidiary part in 
this campaign, marching with his brigade to Centreville 
in support of one of Pope's blundering movements. 

This was a dark day for the country. Not only had 
the attempt to reach Richmond failed, but Pope's fol- 
lowing campaign, conducted with such a profusion of 
boastful and glowing despatches and proclamations, had 
resulted disastrously. The North was despondent ; 
the South was exultant. Lee had proved his strength 
to hold the Confederate territory against all invaders ; 
now he })urposed reversing the situation and becoming 
an invader himself. 

It is doubtful whether, when he set his columns in 
motion from Richmond, he intended to carry the Con- 
federate ilixz across the river that formed the dividinsj 



WIKFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 107 

line between the warring powers. It is certain that 
his army was wretchedly equipped and poorly provided. 
Lee himself says that thousands of his troops at this 
time were destitute of shoes. But, whether induced 
by incorrect representations of the popular feebng in 
Maryland, which Lee thought would lead the people to 
flock into his army as soon as he set foot on Northern 
soil, or for whatever reason, the whole Confederate army 
crossed the Potomac at Leesburg, by the fords near 
that place, in three days, between the 4th and 7th of 
September, 1862, and encamped in the vicinity of 
Frederick. There *the standard of revolt was formally 
raised, and the people of Mary hmd were invited by proc- 
lamation of General Lee to join the Confederate force. 

Lee was disappointed when no recruits came. The 
ragged and shoeless condition of his troops operated 
strongly to quench the enthusiasm for service in the 
cause of the Confederacy. But there he was, across 
the border ; and the moral effect, as well as the military 
necessities of the campaign, required that he should 
hold his position. He could not retreat without at 
least measuring strength with the powerful army which 
he knew must be sent to repel his invasion. 

So it was that the Maryland campaign came into 
existence. When the shattered battalions that sm- 
vived General Pope's disastrous campaign in Northern 
Virginia returned to Washington, President Lincoln 
requested General McCiellan to resume command of 
the Army of the Potomac, which was increased in num- 
bers by the addition of other corps. " McClellan's 
reappearance at the head of affairs," says Swinton, 



108 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

'had the most beneficial efiect on the army, whose 
Tnorale immediately underwent an astonishing change. 
The heterogeneous mass, made up of the aggregation 
of the remnants of the two armies and the garrison of 
Washington, was reorganized into a compact body, — a 
work that had mostly to be done while the army was 
on the march ; and as soon as it became known that 
Lee had crossed the Potomac, McClellan moved toward 
Frederick to meet him." 

It was Lee's plan to dislodge the Union forces from 
Harper's Ferry before concentrating his army west of 
the mountains, and his arrans^ements and orders were 
all made for this enterprise. But, through a stroke of 
good fortune, a copy of Lee's order for the movement 
of troops fell into McClellan's hands, on the day of his 
arrival at Frederick, and forthwith there besran a race 
for Harper's Ferry. The South Mountain range had 
to be passed by the Union army, and toward the two 
principal passes, Turner's Gap and Crampton's Gap, 
the columns hastened. Lee had information of McClel- 
lan's movements, and had sent troops to the passes to 
meet them. Our men found the Confederates in pos- 
session, and forthwith proceeded to break through. 
Hancock was with Franklin's corps at Crampton's Pass, 
six miles below Turner's Gap, where the other column 
was forcing its passage and where the gallant Reno 
was killed. It was hot work where Hancock was as 
well. The rebel General McLaws held the pass under 
orders not to permit the passage, " even if he lost his 
last man in doins: it ; " and he held it well. But the 
forces under Hancock, whose duty it was to advance 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 109 

along the left of the road through the steep and naiTow 
pass, drove back the Confederates from their position 
at the base of the mountain where they were protected 
by a stone wall, and forced them back up the slope of 
the mountain to near its summit. Here Hancock and 
his determined fellow-soldiers fought for three hours, 
until the crest was carried and four hundred prisoners 
taken. 

The battle of South Mountain was won, though at 
great cost, and not soon enough to save Harper's Ferry, 
which surrendered to the enemy the very morning that 
the relieving army burst through the passes of South 
Mountain, with Hancock at the front. 

As the Confederates retired on the morninir of the 
15th of September, McClellan pushed forward his whole 
army in pursuit; but after a few miles' march the 
heads of the columns were brought to a sudden halt at 
Antietam Creek, where, on the heiirhts crowninof the 
west bank of the stream, Lee had taken his stand to 
oj)pose McClellan's pursuit. It was absolutely neces- 
sary for him to make a stand and give battle here, and 
he was ready to do it. 

Late in the afternoon of the 15th, the Union army 
drew up before the Antietam, and there rested over 
night. On the following day there was an artillery 
duel and some considerable skirmishinsf. On the 17th 
the great battle was fought, contested with an obstinacy 
which certified the valor of both sides, and ending in a 
victory of which the honors were almost as great for 
the vanquished as for the ^dctors. From five o'clock in 
the morning until seven o'clock at night the armies 



110 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

contended with great slaughter. At the time, all ^vho 
participated in it were fully convinced that they fought 
the greatest battle of the war ; and, indeed, it was the 
bloodiest and the most hotly contested up to that time. 
Both armies were almost exhausted when the sun 
went down. An army correspondent told the story of 
the situation at the close in this way ; — 

'' McClellan's glass for the last half-hour has seldom been 
Vurued away from the left. He sees clearly enough that Burn- 
side is pressed — needs no message to tell him that. His face 
gi'ows darker with anxious thought. Looking down into the 
valley where fifteen hundred troops are l3ing, he turns a half- 
questioning look on Fitz John Porter who stands by his side, 
gravely scanning the field. They are Porter's troops below ; 
are fresh, and only impatient to share in this fight. But 
Porter slowly shakes his head, and one may believe that the 
same thought is passing through the minds of both generals. 
* They are the only reserves of the army ; they cannot be 
spared.' 

" McClellan mounts his horse, and with Porter and a dozen 
oflScers of his staff rides away to the left in Burnside's direc- 
tion. It is easy to see that the moment has come when every- 
thing may turn on one order given or withheld, when the 
history of the battle is only to be written in thoughts and 
purposes and words of the general. 

"Burnside's messenger rides up. His message is : ' I want 
troops and guns. If 3"ou do not send them, I cannot hold my 
position half an hour.' McClellan's only answer for a moment 
is a glance at the western sky. Then he turns and speaks 
very slowly : ' Tell General Burnside this is the battle of 
the war. He must hold his ground till dark at any cost. I 
will send him Miller's batteiy. I can do nothing more ; I 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. Ill 

have no infantiy.' Then, as the messenger was riding away, 
he called hiin back : ' Tell him if he cannot hold his ground, 
then the bridge, to the last man ! Alwaj^s the bridge ! If the 
bridge is lost, all is lost/ 

' ' The sun is already down ; not half an hour of daylight is 
left. Till Burnside's message came it had seemed plain to 
€very one that the battle could not be finished to-da3\ None 
suspected, how near was the peril of defeat, of sudden attack on 
exhausted forces — how vital to the safety of the army and the 
country" were those fifteen hundred waiting troops of Fitz 
John Porter in the hollow. But the rebels halted instead of 
pushing on ; their vindictive cannonade died away as the 
light faded. Before it was quite dark the battle was over. 
Onty a soUtary gun thundered against the enemy, and presently 
this also ceased, and the field was still." 

There was great slaughter among the troops, and 
havoc among their generals. The sun went down in 
blood. But here it was, on this sanguinary field, that 
Hancock won his next promotion. General Richardson, 
commanding the first division of the Second Corps, was 
mortally wounded, and Hancock was ordered to take 
his place in the field, and fight the battle where Rich- 
ardson was struck down. 

From this time dates General Hancock's connection 
with the old Second Army Corps which has become 
historic. His name and his fame are inseparably con- 
nected wjth the corps which carried as its emblem the 
clover-leaf, omen of good-luck. They came together 
amid the shrieking bullets of Antietam, and they earned 
glory together through the war. 



112 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 



CHAPTER VI. 

Fredericksburg. — Opening the Campaign of the Rappahannock. — 
Burnside succeeds McClellan. — Hancock receives his Commission 
as Major-General of Volunteers. — He Commands a Division on the 
March to Fredericksburg. — The Bloody Fight in the " Slaughter- 
Pen." — Hancock Wounded. 

The Confederate campaign in Maryland came to an 
end with the battle of Antietam, in which Hancock so 
distinguished himself. It lasted just two weeks ; and 
instead of passing into history as an invasion, it degen- 
erated into a raid. While its purpose was to raise the 
standard of revolt in Maryland and rally the citizens 
of that State about the Confederate flag, it resulted in 
the almost complete destruction of Lee's army. In- 
stead of receivinsr flocks of recruits from the rebel 
sympathizers in Maryland, Lee saw his own forces 
dwindling away so rapidly that he was forced to confess 
that liis army was "ruined by straggling." In his 
oflicial report, he says : — " The arduous service in 
which our troops had been engaged, their great priva- 
tions of rest and food, and the long marches without 
shoes over mountain roads, had greatly reduced our 
ranks before the action [at Antietam] began. These 
causes had compelled thousands of brave men to absent 
themselves, and many more had done so from unwor- 
thy motives. This great battle was fought by less 
than forty thousand men on our side." After Antie- 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 113 

tarn, Lee was quite ready to get back across the 
Potomac, taking with him less than thirty thousand of 
the seventy thousand troops with which he had entered 
Maryland. 

A short period of rest for the Army of the Potomac 
followed the battle of Antietam, in which General 
Hancock had for the first time assumed command of a 
division ; but when it became necessary to make a 
reconnoissance in force from Harper's Ferry to Charles- 
town, Ya., it was naturally the dashing and successful 
Hancock who was ordered to lead the way. This was 
done about the middle of October, Hancock striking 
the line of the enemy, and driving him with the sharp 
fighting and the indomitable persistence for which he 
was already distinguished. Following this reconnois- 
sance, McClellan crossed the Potomac about five miles 
below Harper's Ferry, this movement ending his com- 
mand, General Burnside being appointed to take his 
place. 

Burnside's plan was to advance on Richmond by way 
of Fredericksburg ; and to accomplish this he proposed 
to move by the north bank of the Eappahannock to 
Falmouth, nearly opposite to Fredericksburg, then 
cross the river by a pontoon bridge, and seize the 
blufi*s on the south bank. The advance was made in 
three columns, Hancock bein<r on the extreme riirht of 
the line. The discipline of his troops was as perfect 
as when he was in command of a much smaller force, 
and he made the march in good order, passing rapidly 
in advance of the main body, fording rivers and cross- 
ing hills and valleys while leading the way. 



114 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OP 

One who made this march with Hancock thus de- 
scribes it: — "The country from the Potomac to the 
Rappahannock presented the usual features of Virginia 
scenery. Tall chimneys standing, monuments of 
departed peace, in the midst of wastes that had once 
been farms. Not a cow, or chicken or pig, or any 
living or movable thing that had been the property of 
the inhabitants. One nest of squalid children staring 
from a forlorn cabin. A few dead horses and mules 
beside the roads. Six-mule army wagons, with blas- 
pheming drivers, whooping, lashing and cursing their 
way through the river, which is red as if it had all been 
soaked in their blood. Long processions of cavalry 
winding their way, like caravans, through the Virginian 
Sahara. The dismantled huts of deserted encamp- 
ments, the camp-fires still smoking, showing that the 
troops were just put in motion. The tents and wig- 
wams of the guards along the road, looking, in the 
chill wind that came down the ravines through hills 
spattered with snow, dismally uncomfortable." 

It was while this movement was in progress that 
Hancock received his commission as Major-General of 
Volunteers. This promotion was in recognition of the 
gallantry and ability shown by Hancock in the pre- 
ceding campaign of the Army of the Potomac. 

Thus confirmed in his position as division commander, 
General Hancock led his troops through the Avar- 
swept fields of Virginia to Fredericksburg. Arriving 
near Falmouth, on the opposite bank of the Eappahan- 
nock, he halted his division in a sheltered valley and 
gave his men the rest they needed before engaging in 
the terrible conflict that was before them. 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 115 

But when the time for action arrived, Hancock was 
in the advance. On the night of the 12th of Decem- 
ber, 1862, he moved forward and crossed the river. 
When his force reached the position assigned it, directly 
in front of the enemy, the men were ankle-deep in 
mud, and the frosty winds of the Virginia winter were 
sweeping down the valley of the Kappahannock and 
chilling them to the bone. Yet so perfect was the 
discipline which Hancock maintained, that, while camp- 
fires were forbidden, the wet and cold ranks kept their 
positions in the line ; and together, officers and men, 
Hancock at their head, lay down under the inclement 
sky and tried to sleep. 

The battle began at daybreak of December 13. Han- 
cock's force was at the front, and remained there through 
the long and bloody action. His behavior on this oc- 
casion was in keeping with the high reputation he had 
achieved. With his division, he was in the hottest of 
the fight, leading his men as far as it was possible for 
men to go, and falling back with them only when at- 
tempt to go further was foolhardy and useless. Every 
attempt made by the enemy to break through Hancock's 
line was immediately repulsed, and his men halted on 
the march through the upper parts of the city only to 
form a more perfect line, and do the more execution in 
the attack. 

Here, as everywhere else, Hancock seemed to bear 
a charmed life. He passed through the " slaughter- 
pen," as our men used to call the position they occupied 
in this fight, with only a slight flesh-wound across the 
abdomen, coming out otherwise unharmed, though with 
his uniform perforated by the enemy's buUets. 



116 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

An eye-witness descril^es the advance of Hancock's 
division in this battle : " That which I saw was a mas- 
sive line of blue-jackets standing in the mist of their 
own musketry, surging forward and swaying backward, 
only to push on again, under a tire of artillery and mus- 
ketry such that I was amazed it did not absolutely 
swxep them from the face of the earth ; and so utterly 
idle did it seem for our men to be wasted in endeavor- 
ing to breast such a storm, that it would have been a 
relief to see them fall back into the town, and give up 
the unfair and horrible contest. The discharges of 
musketry at intervals were excessively furious, rapid 
beyond computation, and the sound must be remarked 
as far more terrible than that of artillery. While our 
artillery was silent, and that of the enemy was jarring 
the earth, and filling the valley of the Rappahannock 
with crashing reverberations, our noble infantry main- 
tained for hours a line of fire across the field, the smoke 
rolling from the play of their muskets in long fleecy 
clouds. Presently some batteries of our field-artillery 
got to work, and for awhile the action did not look so 
one-sided. Flash answered flash, as gun responded to 
gun ; but it was our field-guns to their siege-guns ; and 
their batteries, with the advantages of position and 
number of pieces, as well as weight of metal, after a 
gallant contest silenced our artillery. When the enemy 
charged upon our men, they met their masters, and 
were invariably beaten back, terribly damaged. No 
troops in the w^orld would have w^on a victory if placed 
in the position ours were. Few armies, however re- 
nowned, Avould have stood as well as ours did. It can 



WIXFIELD SCOIT HANCOCK. 117 

hardly be in human nature for men to show more valor 
than was found on our side that day." 

The character of Hancock was at this time shown in 
another phase, in his care for the hospitals and for those 
wounded who could not reach them. The buildings 
selected for the hospital service were watched over with 
the closest care, and as safely guarded as the circum- 
stances permitted. While wounded himself, and re- 
maining in the heat of the battle, he constantly super- 
vised the despatch of the wounded sufferers across the 
river. He fought his troops well and brought them ofi 
the bloody field of Fredericksburg in good order. 

It was at the time understood, and has been ever 
since conceded, that the attack on Fredericksburg was 
a great and terrible error. Burnside, in a manly way, 
in his official report to the President, took all the blame 
on himself as the one who planned the assault, and 
under whose orders it was made. But, without enter- 
ing upon the question of the wisdom or error of the 
orders of the commanding general, we can regard with 
pride and admiration the manner in which those orders 
were carried out. To show with what persistent valor 
Hancock labored to carry out the orders entrusted to 
him, it is only necessary to mention the fact, that of the 
live thousand men whom he led in person to the assault 
upon the stone wall and ritle-trenches of Longstreet at 
the foot of Marye's Heights, under that terrible cross- 
fire of shot and shell from the Confederate batteries, 
only three thousand returned with their wounded com* 
mander. 



118 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OP 



CHAPTER Vn. 

Chancellorsville. — " Fighting Joe " Hooker in command of the Army 
of the Potomac. — The Clover Badge. — Hancock again leads his Di- 
vision across the Eappahannock. — Occupation of Chancellorsville. 
— Lee attacks the Position. — Hancock's Division saves the Day. — 
"Stonewall" Jackson's Death. — Hancock takes Command of the 
Second Corps. 

The slaughter of Fredericksburg was followed by 
the fiasco of the ''Mud March," and then Burnside, 
having offered the President the alternative of accepting 
his own resignation, or at once removing a number of 
his corps commanders, was promptly relieved of his 
command, and Gen. Joseph Hooker — *' Fighting Joe " 
— put in his place at the head of the Army of the 
Potomac. Hooker straio:htened out the tan^fle in which 
Burnside had left the army, spent the wet months in 
reorganizing it, and in April had it in good condition 
to move on to another day of glory — and another 
defeat. 

It was Hooker who originated the plan of designat- 
ing the several army corps by distinctive badges. The 
germ of the idea was the happy thought of the gallant 
Phil. Kearney, who, at Fair Oaks, ordered the soldiers 
of his division to sew a piece of red flannel to their 
caps, so that he could recognize them in the tumult of 
battle. Hooker developed this idea into a system which 
proved most useful during the war. 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 119 

Hancock wore the trefoil, or clover-leaf, the honored 
badge of the Second Corps. EQs division was in this 
corps, which Couch commanded. 

The two armies had faced each other all winter on 
opposite banks of the Rappahannock, until, in April, 
Hooker felt prepared to make an offensive movement* 
This was to turn the flank of the Confederate army, 
and thus compel Lee to abandon his defences along the 
Rappahannock. The movement was very successfully 
executed, so far as turning the flank and getting to 
Chancellorsville, Hancock's division reaching that place 
and bivouacking there on the night of Thursday, April 
30, 1863. 

This was the occasion of Hooker's boastful proclama- 
tion to the troops : " The enemy must either ingloriously 
fly, or come out from behind his defences and give us 
battle on our own ground, where certain destruction 
awaits him." He is also said to have declared in conver- 
sation : " The rebel army is now the legitimate property 
of the Army of the Potomac. They may as well pack 
up their haversacks and make for Richmond." Had 
success followed his movement, these boasts would have 
passed into history as wisdom ; and at the time they 
were made. Hooker had every reason to consider him- 
self able to make them good. 

But comparative failure robbed them of their charac- 
ter. Lee at length realized what was going on upon his 
left flank, and at once set about remedying the matter. 

Hancock's division had been sent, with that of Gen- 
eral Sykes, to advance as the centre column on the road 
from Chancellorsville to Fredericksburg; being chosen, 



120 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

as usual, for the post of honor and danger. They drove 
tlio enemy, and secured a commanding position on 
Friday, May 1. But, by one of those errors which 
seem so strange after the occurrence. Hooker ordered 
Sykes and Hancock back, in spite of protest, and made 
ready to accept battle at Chancellorsville. 

How the Confederates, under "Stonewall" Jackson, 
gtole around Hooker's army while Lee was engaging his 
attention in front ; and how General Howard, with the 
Eleventh Corps, was beaten back in disorder, has been 
often told. But here it was that Hancock again saved 
what there was to be saved from the disaster. He 
mterposed his division like a rock between the advanc- 
ing Confederates and the demoralized Union troops ; 
and, although he was attacked with great impetuosity, 
he held the enemy in check. 

Always generous and prompt to recognize merit, 
Hancock, in his report, gives this tribute to the valor 
of one of his subordinates : — " On the 2d of May, 
the enemy frequently opened with artillery from the 
heights towards Fredericksburg, and from those on my 
right, and with infantry assaulted my advance line of 
rifle-pits, but was always handsomely repulsed by the 
troops on duty there, under Col. N. A. Miles. During 
the sharp contest of that day, the enemy were never 
able to reach my line of battle, so strongly and success- 
fully did Colonel Miles contest the ground." 

In the disposition of his forces, Hancock was, as 
always, personally attentive to the smallest details ; and 
to this, equally with the valor of his subordinates, nmst 
the success of his command be attributed. He led his 



WTNFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 121 

troops in person, placed them in the field under his own 
eye, and remained to take part in the engagement. He 
was right among his men, holding them to work by his 
own presence. 

At Chancellorsville he had his horse shot under him. 
To what dangers he and his men were exposed by the 
position in which they were placed in this battle, and 
how bravely they held their own, is indicated in the 
report of Colonel Morris, of the Sixty-sixth New York 
Regiment, in Hancock's division. "The firing," writes 
Colonel Morris, "was maintained for upwards of four 
hours, during which the enemy made repeated and 
determined assaults upon our lines, and was each time 
gallantly repulsed by our men, with severe loss. All 
his efibrts to break our lines having proved futile, the 
enemy opened upon them with a terrific fire of artillery, 
but with no better result ; every volley from the 
enemy's musketry, and every discharge from his can- 
non seeming to give renewed energy to our brave men, 
and to increase their determination to maintain their 
position at all hazards, and against any assault the ene- 
my might be capable of making against them. There 
was no wasting of ammunition here ; every man fired 
with the utmost coolness and deliberation, taking steady 
aim at his object as if firing for a prize ; not a man 
flinched under the terrible fire to which he was sub- 
jected." 

It was after making his attack upon the position held 
by Hancock, that the fiimous "Stonewall" Jackson 
received the wound that caused his death. Speaking 
of this while he lay dying, Jackson said; "If I had 



122 * LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OP 

not been wounded, I would have cut the enemv off 
from the road to the United States Ford ; we would 
have had them entirely surrounded, and they would 
have been obliged to surrender or cut their way out." 

But Lee ventured upon no strokes of audacity after 
Jackson had passed away ; and it is not improbable 
that the loss of this one life permitted the Chancellors- 
ville expedition to become only a failure, not an over- 
whelming defeat. 

A month after this battle. General Hancock was put 
in command of the Second Corps, in which then for 
nine months he had commanded a division. His eleva- 
tion to this important command gave unusual satisfac- 
tion to officers and men, who had come to know, to 
admire, and to trust him ; and the army and the 
country recognized his advancement as a fairly-earned 
tribute to his soldierly qualities. His assignment to 
the command was at first temporary, occasioned by the 
retirement of General Couch, on the 10th of June. 
But events were culminating in the war for the Union, 
and need was of the stron<]^est men in the hifrhest 
places; and President Lincoln, June '^h^ confirmed 
General Hancock in the permanent command of the 
corps with which his name is so gloriously associated. 



WmriELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 123 



CHAPTER Vin. 

The March to Gettysburg. — Lee Resolves upon an Invasion of the 
North. — He Ravages Pennsylvania while Halleck and Stanton hold 
Hooker hack. — Hooker's Resignation. — The Camp on the Rappa- 
hannock broken up. — The March toward Washington. — Han- 
cock's Corps the Rear Guard. — Perfect Discipline of his Men. 

The Armv of the Potomac had now twice crossed the 
Eappahannock, and twice had it been driven back, if 
not with disaster, at least without success. Fredericks- 
burg and Chancellorsville had raised the confidence of 
Lee's army to the highest pitch, and had given its com- 
mander a consciousness of power which inspired him to 
undertake a war of invasion on his own account. The 
authorities at Richmond, who had always seemed to 
act more harmoniously than those at Washington, 
determined upon an offensive policy, and with Lee 
planned a movement that should cause the Army of 
the Potomac to loose its hold upon the Rappahannock, 
and should transfer the theatre of war to the loyal 
States. 

The Confederates, moreover, having a depleted com- 
missariat to draw upon, cast longing eyes toward the 
fertile fields and rich cities that lay clustering in the 
valleys and upon the river-banks in the great State of 
Pennsylvania ; and, added to the hope of recruiting 
their exhausted supplies, was the expectation of obtain- 
ing a foothold upon the line of communications between 



124 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

Washington and the North, and if successful in defeating 
the Union army upon Northern territory, levy tribute 
upon these wealthy and populous districts, and possi- 
bly dictate terms of peace that would redound to the 
advantage of the Confederacy. 

There is no doubt as to the destitution of Lee's army 
at this time, or as to the influence it had upon the 
invasion. Shortly before the movement, according to 
General Longstreet, Lee sent to Eichmond a requisi- 
tion for a certain amount of rations. The paper came 
back with the Commissary-General's endorsement : " If 
General Lee wishes rations, let him seek them in Penn- 
sylvania." At this time, also. Hooker's army had been 
weakened, by the mustering out of the short-term 
volunteers, until it numbered about eighty thousand 
effective troops, while Lee had been strengthened by a 
large force of conscripts. 

General Hooker had, from the first, divined the pur- 
pose of Lee, and had kept both the President and Sec- 
retary Stanton informed on the subject. On the 28th 
of May he had written : " You may rest assured that 
important movements are being made. I am in doubt 
as to the direction Lee will take, but probably the one 
of last year, however desperate it may appear." But, 
being restrained by the orders of Halleck and Stanton 
from making an oflensive resistance to the operations 
of Lee, Hooker was compelled to move into a position 
to protect the approaches to Washington and there 
await the development of the Confederate plans. Thus 
the course of Ewell across the border was free ; the 
whole region of Western Pennsylvania was open to 



WIXFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 125 

him, and he thoroughly scoured it, levying upon the 
population for the subsistence of his troops, while he 
gathered vast herds of horses and cattle and sent them 
southward across the Potomac. Thousands of Penn- 
sylvania farmers fled in panic, with their cattle and 
household goods, across the Susquehanna. 

Thus the invasion of Northern territory by the Con- 
federate troops became a fixed fact. Halleck and 
Stanton sat shivering at Washington, vetoing every 
plan of Hooker's looking toward a more vigorous 
policy, until, on the 27th of June, Hooker, in despair, 
asked to be relieved from the command of an army 
which he was not allowed to use. 

Hooker recommended that General Meade be ap- 
pointed to fill the place vacated by his resignation, and, 
true to his duty, conferred with his successor, and had 
long and earnest discussions with him, imparting to 
him all his plans, and ofiering any advice that might be 
required. The purpose of General Meade was to keep 
the Army of the Potomac well in hand, so that rapid 
concentration might be effected, and, if a general en- 
gagement was to be fought, it should be upon ground 
of his own selection ; at the same time to watch Lee's 
movements, and, when a favorable opportunity offered, 
strike upon his communications, and by preventing a 
retreat cut him in pieces. 

To fail to stop Lee in his invasion of Pennsylvania, 
meant disaster to the cause of the Union. The fate of 
the Pepublic, at that time, hung trembling in the 
balance. Had the Union arms suffered defeat, the loss 
of Washington and the prestige of the possession of the 



126 LIFE ANT> PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

Capital, would not have been the only loss. There 
would have been practically nothing to prevent the cap- 
ture of Baltimore, Philadelphia, possibly New York. 
There would have been recosrnition of the Southern 
Confederacy by European Powers ; the destruction of 
the Union, or, at the best, its preservation only after 
years of bloody war. All these probabilities hung on 
the success or defeat of Lee, who was now forging 
ahead on Northern soil, toward the North Star and ex- 
pected victory. Not to intercept him ; not to strike 
him at a place where the Union troops would have the 
advantage or an equality of position ; or, having struck 
Lee, to fail to overwhelm him — and all those results 
were possible — and the cause of the Union was lost. 

Probably every private soldier in the Army of the 
Potomac knew that a tremendous conflict was not many 
hours distant, and had some clear idea of what failure 
meant. But there were some on whom rested supreme 
responsibility. With tliem there must be neither 
mediocrity as to ability, judgment, or execution. 
With them there must be no mistake, or all would be 
lost. Chief among the men on whom was laid this 
momentous duty was Hancock. How he performed 
it the country knows. 

It was on the IStli of June that Hooker, who at that 
time still retained his command of the Army of Poto- 
mac, broke his camp on the Rappahannock, and moved 
after Lee in the direction of Washinsfton. General 
MulhoUand, then holdins: a command in Hancock's 
corps, thus describes the breaking up and the start on 
the long march : — 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 127 

*' When on that lovely summer evening in June, 1863, we 
looked for the last time on Marj^e's Heights and the monu- 
ment of Washington's mother, which had been shattered and 
broken by the shells of both armies, and stood out there on 
the plain back of the city, as though protesting against this 
fratricidal strife, a mute and sorrowful Niobe weeping for the 
misfortunes of her children, every heart beat with a quick- 
ened throb, and all the men rejoiced to leave the scenes of 
the last six months. We withdrew from the line of the river 
after the shades of night had fallen over the landscape ; and 
it seemed to be an appropriate hour, for had not the great 
army, while here, been in shadow, without a ray of sunshine 
to gladden our souls ? and we had been here so long, we were 
beginning to be forgotten as the Army of the Potomac, and 
letters came to us marked, ' Army of the Rappahannock/ 
As we marched away in the darkness, our joy was not un- 
mingled with sorrow ; for was there a veteran in the ranks 
who did not leave behind the graves of noble and well- 
beloved comrades, who had fought beside him from the be- 
ginning of the great struggle? We did not march away 
with all the army. When our camp fires — which on this 
night burned with unusual brightness — went out and left the 
valley of the Rappahannock in darkness, the living army was 
gone, to be sure ; but twenty-five thousand of our members 
lay over on the other side of the river — the heroes of Fred- 
ericksburg and Chancellorsville : — an army of occupation, 
indeed ; the corps of honor, forming a great and permanent 
camp — the bivouac of the dead." 

General Hancock's corps held the position of rear 
guard, and its route to Gettysburg was over two hun- 
dred miles in length. Some days they marched fifteen, 
on others eighteen miles ; and on June 29 this corps 
completed the longest march made by any infantry 



128 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

during the war, leaving Frederick City, Md., m the 
morning and halting at 11 o'clock at night two miles 
beyond Uniontown, a distance of thirty- four miles. 
This march was one of the severest as well as the 
longest of the war. "On one day," writes General 
Mulholland, " I tliink the second out from Falmouth, 
our corps lost more than a dozen men from sunstroke ; 
they fell dead by the wayside. On another day we 
crossed the battle-field of Bull Run, where the year 
before Pope had met with disastrous defeat. No effort 
had been made to bury the dead properly ; a little 
earth, which the rain had long ago washed away, had 
been thrown over them where they fell, and their 
bodies, or rather their skeletons, now lay exposed to 
view. In some parts of the field they were in groups, 
in other places singly, and in all possible positions. 
One cavalryman lay outstretched, with skeleton hand 
still grasping his trusted sword. Another, half-cov- 
ered with earth, the flesh still clinging to his lifeless 
bones, and hand extended as if to greet us. Wg rested 
for a short time on the field, and one of the regiments 
of our brigade (the Twenty-eighth Massachusetts) 
halted on the very spot on which they had fought the 
year previously, and recognized the various articles 
lying around as belonging to their own dead." 

Under the thorough discipline of General Hancock, 
the Second Corps made this march bravely, in the 
heat of the broiling sun of the hottest month of oui 
year ; each man with his load of fifty-seven pounds 
— musket, ammunition, knapsack, shelter-tent an^ 
blanket — and each anxious to keep up with his regi 



WINTIELD SCOTT HAIS'COCK. 129 

ment lest he should lose the fight. And, such was the 
respect for the rights of civilians and of property, 
inspired in these raen by their gallant commander, that 
not an act of wantonness was committed on that weary 
advance. There is not an inhabitant on all that line of 
march, who can tell of a single act of vandalism by any 
of the men, such as we are wont to hear of other 
xrmies. In the rich and cultivated country through 
which they passed, life and property w^ere respected as 
much as though it were in the halcyon days of peace. 
Old and young came to the roadside to see the army 
pass, and knew they were safe from insult or molesta- 
tion. The fields of ripening grain waved untrampled 
when the corps had gone by, the men even going out 
of their way to avoid the gardens lest they should step 
upon the flowers. 

In this way Hancock brought up the rear of the 
Army of the Potomac, as it moved from the Kappa- 
hannock toward the then uncelebrated field of Gettys- 
bui'g. 



130 LITE AND PUBLIC SEliVlCES OF 



CHAPTEK IX. 

Gettysburg. — The First Day. — Meade arrives at Taneytown, — The 
Advauce Guard strikes the Euemy. — ''For God's Sake send up 
Hancock." — Meade puts Hancock in command at the Front. — He 
arrives at the Critical Moment and Saves the Army. — He Selects 
the Battle-ground aud Disposes the Troops. — Meade Concentratea 
his Army for the Fight of the Second Day. 

Hais^cock was now marching, all unconscious of the 
fact, toward the field on which he, by the exercise of 
his soldierly qualities and skill, was to turn the fortunes 
of the great battle of the Rebellion in favor of the 
Union arms. For, with no derogation of the merits of 
the other brave men and skilful commanders who fous^ht 
through those terrible three days at Gettysburg, it is 
only just to Hancock to let the record show the fact 
that it was his magnetic presence which rallied the 
beaten and flying commands of Howard and Sickles, 
his skill which so disposed those forces as to hold the 
position against the Confederate army, and his clear 
foresight and quick decision, which marked out the 
battle-ground on which Meade's victory was to be won. 

The battle of Gettys])urg was not definitely foreseen 
or pre-arranged on either side. Lee was striking for 
Harrisburg ; Meade was hastening to intercept him, 
and had planned to give him battle on Pipe Creek. As 
Lee writes in his ofiicial report of the Gettysburg cam- 
paign ; "Preparations were now made to advance upon 



WINrriELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 131 

Harrisburg ; but on the night of the 28th of June, 
information was received from a scout that the Federal 
army, having crossed the Potomac, was advancing 
northward, and that the head of the column had reached 
South Mountain. As our communications with the 
Potomac were thus menaced, it was resolved to prevent 
his further progress in that direction by concentrating 
our army on the east side of the mountains." 

While Lee was making this movement, the left wing 
of Meade's army, under General Reynolds, which was 
thrown forward in advance to serve as a mask while 
position was taken on Pipe Creek, came in contact with 
the van of the rebel General Hill's command on the 
morning of July 1, just outside the town of Gettys- 
burg. 

This accident determined the battle-field, and the 
result of the contest of that first day was to determine 
which side should have the choice in the disposition of 
troops, and consequently the advantage in the great 
struo:£cle between the o^rand armies. 

It was Hancock who was chosen to decide this in 
favor of the Union. 

Meade's headquarters, with the main body of his 
troops, was at Taney town, fourteen miles from Gettys- 
burg. There the rear guard, Hancock's corps, arrived, 
and was massed on the morning of July 1, 1863. The 
great battle had already begun at Gettysburg, and while 
Meade was consulting with Hancock, and explaining to 
him his plans for the expected battle, the force of the 
Confederate army was concentrating upon the devoted 
corps in advance. The gallant Reynolds had already 



132 LIFE AND rUBLIC SERVICES OF 

fallen, and Buford, after making a wonderful resistance 
with his small force of cavalry against enormous hordes 
of infantry, had hastily scratched a despatch to Meade 
in the note-book of his signal officer : " For God's sake 
send up Hancock. Everything is going at odds, and 
we need a controlling spirit." 

Hancock was the " controlling spirit " and wise adviser 
to whom all turned when in danger. Meade at once 
sent him with orders to assume command of all the 
troops at Gettysburg, and to report upon its advantages 
as a field of battle. In his testimony before the com- 
mittee on the conduct of the war. General Meade 
says : — 

" About one or two o'clock in the day (July 1) I received 
information that the advance of my army, under Major-Gen- 
eral Reynolds of the First Corps, on their reaching Gettys- 
burg, had encountered the enemy in force, and that the First 
and Eleventh CorjDs were at that time engaged in a contest 
with such portions of the enemy as were there. 

" The moment I received this information, I directed Major- 
General Hancock, who was with me at the time, to proceed 
without delay to the scene of the contest, and make an exam- 
ination of the ground in the neighborhood of Gettysbmg, 
and to report to me the facilities and advantages or disad- 
vantages of that ground for receiving battle. I furthermore 
instructed him that in case, upon his arrival at Gett3'sburg, 
ho should find the position unsuitable, and the advantages on 
the side of the eneni}', he should examine the ground criti- 
cally as he went out there, and report to me the nearest posi- 
tion in the immediate neighborhood of Gettysburg, where a 
concentration of the army would be more advantageous than 
at Gettysburg." 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 133 

Hardly had the news of the unexpected engagement 
reached General Meade's headquarters, when another 
cloud of dust was seen approaching on the road from 
Gettysburg. Out of it galloped another stall' officer, 
bringing the sad story of the death of Reynolds and 
carrying the urgent appeal from Buford to send on 
Hancock. General Meade says : -— 

" At one o'clock I received the sad intelligence of the fall 
of General Reynolds, and the actual engagement of my 
troops at Gettysburg. Previous to receiving this intelligence 
I had had a long consultation with General Hancock, and 
explained to him fully my views as to my determination to 
fight in front, if practicable ; if not, then to the rear or to 
the right or left, as circumstances might require. Anxious 
to have some one at the front who could carry out my views, 
I directed General Hancock to proceed to Gettysburg and 
take command of the troops there, and particularly to advise 
me of the condition of affairs there, and the practicability of 
fighting a battle there." 

It is a curious coincidence that, almost one hundred 
years before this eventful day, the grandfather of Gen- 
eral Hancock, an officer in Washington's army, was 
detailed to command the escort which left this same 
little village of Taney town, in charge of a company of 
prisoners taken from Burgoyne, to take them to Valley 
Forge. 

As there has been some controversy as to the fixct of 
who was in command at Gettysburg, and who saved 
the army — and thereby doubtless saved the country — 
by rallying the demoralized and flying columns and 
securmg the position for the battle of the following 



134 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

day, the order of General Meade, under which Han- 
cock assumed command, is here given : — 

Headquarters Army of Potomac, > 
July 1, 18G3 — 1.10 p. M. ) 

Commanding Officer, Second Corps : 

The Major-General commanding has just been informed 
that General Reynolds has been killed or badly wounded. 
He directs you to tm^n over the command of 3'our corps to 
General Gibbon ; that 3'ou proceed to the front, and, by 
virtue of this order, in case of the tnith of General Rey- 
nolds's death, you assume command of the corps there 
assembled ; viz., the Eleventh, First, and Third at Emmetts- 
burg. If 3'ou think the ground and position there a better 
one to fight a battle under existing circumstances, 3'ou will 
so advise the General, and he will order all troops up. You 
know the General's views, and General Warren, who is fully 
aware of them, has gone out to see General Re^molds. 
Very respectfully. 

Your obedient servant, 

D. BUTTERFIELD, 

Major- General and Chief of Staff. 

To understand the importance of the trust thus 
placed in Hancock's hands, it must be understood that 
General Meade had already chosen a place for the 
expected battle, and that he left it absolutely to Han- 
cock's judgment whether his plans should be entirely 
changed. Also, General Meade, at this supreme 
moment, did not hesitate to place Hancock in com- 
mand over Howard, his senior. It was no time for 
etiquette. The fate of the army was at stake, and 
Hancock was everyw^here recognized as the one who 



WINPIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 135 

could save it. On the point of superseding his two 
seniors, Howard and Sickles, General Hancock says : 
"I did not feel much embarrassment about it, because 
I was an older soldier than either of them. But I 
knew, legally, it was not proper, and if they chose to 
resist it, it might be a troublesome matter to me for 
the time being." 

The moment General Hancock received the above 
order, he turned over the command of his corps to 
General Gibbon and started with his staff for the bat- 
tle-field. 

As General Hancock proceeded to the front he rode 
part of the way in an ambulance, so that he might 
examine the maps of the country, his aid, Maj. W. 
G. Mitchell, galloping ahead to announce his coming 
to Howard, whom he found on Cemetery Hill, and to 
whom he told his errand, giving him to understand 
that General Hancock was coming up to take com- 
mand. 

At half-past three o'clock General Hancock rode up 
to General Howard, informed him that he had come to 
take command and asked him if he wished to see his 
written orders. Howard answered : " No ! no ! Han- 
cock, go ahead ! " 

At this moment our defeat seemed to be complete. 
Our troops were flowing through the streets of the 
town in great disorder, closely pursued by the Con- 
federates, the retreat fast becoming a rout, and in a 
very few minutes the enemy would be in possession of 
Cemetery Hill, the key to the position ; and the battle 
of Gettysburg would have gone into history as a rebel 



136 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OP 

victory. But what a change came over the scene in 
the next half-hour. The presence of Hancock, like 
that of Sheridan, was magnetic. 

Schwerin and Saxe were said to be worth each a 
reinforcement of ten thousand men to an army ; and 
the Duke of Wellington said the arrival of Napoleon 
on a battle-field was a better reinforcement to the 
French army than the accession of forty thousand 
fresh troops. What, then, shall we say of the value 
of General Hancock's arrival at the critical moment on 
the battle-field of Gettysburg, a battle that by common 
consent is now admitted to have decided the fate of the 
Union and fixed the final result of the war? 

Order came out of chaos. The flying troops halted 
and again faced the enemy. The battalions of Howard's 
corps, that were retreating down the Baltimore pike, 
were called back and with a cheer went into position 
on the crest of Cemetery Hill, where the division of 
Steinwehr had already been stationed. Wads worths 
division and a battery were sent to hold Gulp's Hill, 
and Geary, with the White Star division, went on the 
double-quick to occupy the high ground toward Bound 
Top. Confidence was restored, the enemy checked 
and, being deceived by these dispositions, ceased their 
attack. Hancock had saved the day. 

Swinton, describing the advent of Hancock and the 
turn of the tide of battle under the influence of his 
presence, says: — "At the time the confused throng 
was pouring through Gettysburg, General Hancock ar- 
rived on the o^round. In such an cmero^cncv it is the 
personal qualities of the commander alone that tell. 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 137 

If, happily, there is in him that mysterious but potent 
magnetism that calms, subdues, and inspires, there re- 
sults one of those sudden moral transformations that 
are among the marvels of the phenomena of battle. This 
quality Hancock possesses in a high degree, and his ap- 
pearance soon restored order out of seemingly hopeless 
confusion — a confusion which Howard, an efficient 
officer but of a rather negative nature, had not been 
able to quell. Nor, fortunately, could there be any 
question as to the right position to be taken up, for 
nature had already traced it out in a bold relief of 
rock. On the ridge of Gettysburg — the ridge Rey- 
nolds had mentally marked as he impetuously hurried 
forward to buffet the advancing enemy, and which, by 
the rich sacrifice of his life, he purchased for the pos- 
session of the army, and for the possession of history 
forever — Hancock disposed the remnants of the two 
corps." 

General Hancock was fully aware that General 
Meade had determined to fight the battle on the line of 
Pipe Creek ; but noting the topographical advantages 
of the ground around Gettysburg, he determined to 
advise General Meade to fight there. He knew that 
this line, the crest of Cemetery Eidge, with Gulp's Hill 
on the right, Eound Top on the left, and Cemetery Hill 
in the centre, could not be bettered. So, when order had 
taken the place of confusion and our lines were once more 
intact, he sent his senior aid, Major Mitchell, back to 
tell General Meade that he could hold the position un- 
til nightfall, and that in his judgment Gettysburg was 
the place to fight the battle. Major IMitchell found 



138 LIFE AKD PUBLIC SERVICES OP 

General Meade in the evening, near Taneyiown, and 
communicated these views. General Meade listened 
attentively, and on these representations he fortunately 
concluded to abandon his idea of fis^htino: on the line 
of Pipe Creek, and deliver the battle at Gettysburg ; 
and turning to Gen. Seth Williams, his Adjutant- 
General, he said: "Order up all the troops; we will 
fight there." 

The Second Corps promptly followed General Han- 
cock, and required no urging to keep the men up. 
The regiments moved forward solidly and rapidly, and 
not a straggler was to be seen ; but as they hurried 
along a halt was ordered, the ranks opened, and an 
ambulance passed containing the body of the heroic 
Gen. John F. Reynolds. Then the corps pushed 
on to within a few miles of the battle-ground, where it 
camped that night and arrived on the field early the 
next morning. 

So it was that, on the first of the three memorable 
days of Gettysburg, Hancock was the means of chang- 
ing defeat and disaster into success ; and so it was that 
he designated the field on which the greatest and most 
momentous battle of the Union was to be fought. 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 139 



CHAPTER X. 

Gettysburg. — The Second Day. — Hancock ia command at the Left 
Centre. — Sickles's Corps cut up. — Hancock to the Rescue. — The 
Absolution of the Irish Brigade. — Fight for the Ridge in front 
of the Wheat-field. — Hancock protects the Situation. — He holds 
the Line between Cemetery Ridge and Little Round Top. 

After posting the troops, General Hancock turned 
over the command to General Slocum, his ranking offi- 
cer, who arrived in the evening. 

The morning of July 2d and the second day of the 
battle dawned clear and bright, and found Hancock 
posting the Second Corps on Cemetery Ridge. As yet 
no one in that corps, with the exception of the General 
and his staff, had heard a shot fired. As the troops 
approached Gettysburg the day before, the sounds of 
the fiofht, owinof to the direction of the wind or the 
formation of the country, were wholly inaudible. 
Those who came upon the field after nightfall had no 
idea of the whereabouts of the enemy ; but as the day- 
light increased and objects became visible, their lines 
were seen nearly a mile distant on Seminary Kidge, and 
away to the left rose Little Round Top, and still 
farther on Round Top. 

On that morning the entire Union army, except the 
corps of Sedgwick, had reached Gettysburg, and the 
whole Southern force, except Pickett's division and 
Longstreet's corps, had come up. The line of battle 



140 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

formed by the army was in the shape of a Limerick 
fish-hook ; the head being Little Round Top, the 
point at Spangler's Spring, and the centre of the curve 
where the Second Corps lay, and where now repose the 
country's dead. This position of the Second Corps was 
the key to the whole line ; for, once broken, both 
wings of the army would be separated, if not de- 
stroyed. General Longstreet says, in his version of the 
battle of Gettysburg, that " the enemy did not see the 
value of Cemetery Ridge until the arrival of Hancock." 

The command of General Hancock on this day was 
the left centre, his Second Corps being posted in the 
rear as reserves. The battle did not really open until 
afternoon ; and when it opened, Hancock, who had 
devoted careful attention to the disposition of his 
troops, seemed to be everyivhere with them in the 
actual contest. 

About 4 o'clock, there was that sharp and persistent 
fighting on the left, into which Sickles's corps marched 
so bravely and in which it suffered so terribly. Han- 
cock was called on for aid, and he at once sent out one 
of his divisions, — General Caldwell's. 

The Irish brigade. Col. Patrick Kelly, which had 
been commanded formerly by Gen. Thomas Francis 
Meagher, and whose green flag had been unfurled in 
every battle in which the Army of the Potomac had 
been engaged, from the first Bull Run to Appomattox, 
formed a part of this division. As the large majority 
of its members were Catholics, the chaplain of the 
brigade. Rev. William Corly, proposed to give a 
general absolution to all the men before going into 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 141 

the fight. While this is customary in the armies 
of Catholic countries of Europe, it was perhaps the 
first time it was ever witnessed on this continent ; 
unless, indeed, the grim old warrior. Ponce de Leon, 
as he tramped through the everglades of Florida in 
search of the Fountain of Youth, or De Soto on his 
march to the Mississippi, indulged in this act of devo- 
tion. 

Father Corly stood upon a large rock in front of the 
brigade. Addressing the men, he explained what he 
was about to do, saying that each one could receive the 
benefit of the absolution by making a sincere act of 
contrition, and firmly resolving to embrace the first 
opportunity of confessing his sins ; urging them to do 
their duty well, and reminding them of the high and 
sacred nature of their trust as soldiers, and the noble 
object for which they fought ; ending by saying that 
the Catholic Church refuses Christian burial to the 
soldier who turns his back upon the foe or deserts his 
flag. 

The brig^ade was standins^ at " Order arms." As he 
closed his address every man fell on his knees with 
head bowed down. Then stretching his right hand 
toward the brigade, Father Corly pronounced the 
words of the absolution: — ^"^ Dominus noster Jesus 
Chrislus vos absolvat, et ego, auctoritate ipsius, vos 
ahsolvo ah omni vinculo excommunicationis et interdicti 
in quantum possum et vos indigetis, deinde ego ahsolvo 
vos a peccatis vestris in nomine Patris, et Filii et 
Spiritus Sancti. Amen." 

General MulhoUand, speaking of this occurrence, 



142 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

says: — "The scene was more than impress! v^e ; it was 
awe-inspiring. Near by stood Hancock, surrounded 
by a brillant throng of officers who had gathered to 
witness this very unusual occurrence ; and while there 
was profound silence in the ranks of the Second Corps, 
yet over to the left, out by the peach orchard and Little 
Eound Top, where Weed and Vincent and Haslett 
were dying, the roar of the battle rose and swelled and 
re-echoed through the woods, making music more sub- 
lime than ever sounded through cathedral aisle. The 
act seemed to be in harmony with all the surround- 
ings. I do not think there was a man in the brigade 
who did not offer up a heartfelt prayer. For some it 
was their last ; they knelt there in their grave-clothes — 
in less than half an hour many of them were numbered 
with the dead of July 2. Who can doubt that their 
prayers were good? What was wanting in the elo- 
quence of the priest to move them to repentance was 
supplied in the incidents of the fight. That heart 
would be incorrigible, indeed, that the scream of a 
Whitworth bolt, added to Father Corly's touching 
appeal, would not move to contrition." 

The contest at this point was for the ridge in front 
of the wheat-field, a location known to ever}^ one of the 
many thousands in that fight as one of the bloodiest of 
the second day's contest. As Caldwell's division, in 
response to Hancock's orders, advanced to the relief of 
Sickles, approaching the crest of the rugged hill, from 
behind the huge bowlders that were ever3rvvhere scat- 
tered around, the men of Longstreet's corps rose up 
and poured into the Union ranks a most destructive 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 143 

fire. The lines were not more than thirty feet apart 
"when the firing opened. Our men promptly returned 
the fire, and for ten or fifteen minutes the work of 
death went on. There was no cheering, no time lost 
in unnecessary movements. Every man there, both 
Union and rebel, was a veteran, and knew just what 
was wanted. They stood there face to face, loading 
and firing, and so close that every shot told. In a 
short time the bri;2:ades of Cross and Zook beiran 
forcing the enemy back, and after firing about ten 
minutes Colonel Kelly gave the order to charge. The 
men, rushing forward with a cheer, were among the 
Johnnies in a few moments. 

Here took place a rather extraordinary scene. In 
an instant our men and their opponents were mingled 
together. In charging they had literally run right in 
among them. Firing instantly ceased, and they found 
there were as many of the enemy as there were of 
themselves. Officers and men looked for a time utterly 
bewildered ; all the fighting had stopped, yet the Gray- 
backs still retained their arms, and showed no disposi- 
tion to surrender. At this moment a Union oflicer 
called out in a loud voice : " The Confederate troops 
will lay down their arms and go to the rear I " This 
ended a scene that was becomino^ embarrassinsr. The 
Confederates promptly obeyed, and a large number of 
Kershaw's brigade became our prisoners. 

Of this division, the brigades of Kelly and Zook 
were most unfortunate. By ill-fortune they found 
themselves surrounded, with one rebel line of battle in 
front and another behind, and the only way out of the 



144 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

trap was to pass down between the two rebel lines. 
So the two brigades started on a double-quick, firing 
as they ran, toward the Little Eound Top, the only 
opening through which they could escape. 

Passing through this alley of death, where the bul- 
lets came thick as hail, they got away with a large part 
of the division ; but the loss was terrible. In the half- 
hour that they were under fire, fourteen hundred men 
were lost. Of the four brigade commanders, Cross 
fell almost at the first fire and Zook a few minutes 
afterward. On the morning of that day General Han- 
cock said to Colonel Cross : " This is the last time you 
will fight as a Colonel ; to-day will make you a Briga- 
dier-General." Cross answered, firmly and sadly, as 
thouijh he felt sure of what he said : " No ; it is too 
late. General ; I will never wear the star. To-day I 
shall be killed." 

The combat at this point, during the evening of July 
2, was of a most sanguinary character, each side fight- 
ino^ with a dreadful earnestness. Four or five of our 
best divisions had charged over the same spot, and were 
met every time by the choice troops of the enemy — 
both determined to hold the ridae in front of the wheat- 
field. Until toward dark the fight had certainly gone 
against us, and the battle had extended along the line, 
to the right, almost half-way to the cemetery. The 
evening and our prospects grew dark together. The 
Third Corps had been driven back, broken and shat- 
tered, its commander wounded and carried from the 
field. The troops that had gone to its support fared no 
better, and every man felt that the situation was grave. 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 145 

However, all was not yet lost. Meade had again 
thought of Hancock, and as the day before he sent him to 
stop the rout of the First and Eleventh Corps, so again 
he ordered him to assume command on the left. Once 
more he was in the fight. A half-hour of daylight yet 
remained, but it was long enough to enable him to 
rally some of our scattered troops, face them once more 
to the front, gather reinforcements, drive back the 
enemy, and restore our broken lines. 

Few of our troops slept during this night. The 
Second Corps went back and was put in position on 
Cemetery Ridge by General Hancock, who all the night 
long labored to strengthen this line. The men gathered 
rocks and fence-rails, and used them to erect a light 
breastwork. 

This closed the second day of the great battle ; and 
Hancock, who had saved the army by his presence on 
the 1st of July, had saved the critical position on the 
2d. On the fall of Sickles, he had assumed command 
of the Third Corps as well as the Second, placing 
the latter under the immediate orders of General Gib- 
bon, and established his headquarters well up to the 
front, midway between Cemetery Eidge and Little 
Eound Top. 



146 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 



CHAPTER XI. 

Gettysburg.— The Third Day.— The Storm of Fire.— Hancock's 
Wonderful Deed of Valor. — His Ride from Left to Right of the Lino 
aud back again. — The Final Desperate Assault of the Confederates. 
— Hancock Beats Them Back. — Struck Down in the Moment of 
Victory. — But He Saved the Day. — Thanks of Congress. 

At the first gray dawn of the morning of July 3, the 
fight was resumed on Gulp's Hill, where the Confeder- 
ates had efiected a lods^ment the niirht before ; and as 
the day advanced, the artillery joined in, and the battle 
at that point became earnest. It was not until nine 
o'clock that the cessation of the firinsf and the cheers 
of General Geary's men gave notice all down the line 
that the enemy had been driven out, and that we were 
again in possession of that point. 

Then came a perfect calm. All along Hancock's line, 
from Cemetery Hill to Ivound Top, not a shot had been 
fired that morninor. The fate of battle had reserved 
Hancock to bear the terrible brunt of the final desperate 
assault on which was to depend the result of the battle, 
and to gloriously repulse it. 

But the quiet was soon to be broken. About noon 
there could be seen from Hancock's line considerable 
activity among the Confederates along Seminary Ridge. 
Battery after battery appeared along the edge of the 
woods. Guns were unlimbered, phiced in position and 
the horses taken to the rear. On our side oificers sat 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 147 

around in groups, and, through field-glasses, anxiously 
watched these movements in their front, and wondered 
what it all meant. Shortly after one o'clock, however, 
they knew all about it. The headquarters wagons had 
just come up, and General Gibbon had invited Han- 
cock and staff to partake of some lunch. The bread 
that was handed around — if it ever was eaten — was 
consumed without butter ; for as the orderly was passing 
the latter article to the gentlemen, a shell from Semi- 
nary Ridge cut him in two. 

Instantly the air was filled with bursting shells ; the 
batteries that had been for the last two hours getting 
into position did not open singly or spasmodically. 
The whole hundred and twenty guns, which now began 
to play upon our lines, seemed to be discharged simul- 
taneously, as though by electricity. And then for 
nearly two hours the storm of death went on. 

One who was present under this fire fhus describes 
it : "No tongue or pen can find language strong enough 
to convey any idea of its awfiilness. The air was full 
of missiles ; streams of shot and shell screamed and 
hissed everywhere ; it seemed as though nothing could 
live under that terrible fire. Men and horses were torn 
limb from limb ; caissons exploded one after another 
in rapid succession, blowing the gunners to pieces. 
The infantry hugged the ground closely, and sought 
every slight shelter that the light earthworks afibrded. 
It was literally a storm of shot and shell, like the fall 
of raindrops or the beat of hailstones. Those whu had 
taken part in every battle of the war never had seen 
an}i;hing like that cannonade, and the oldest soldiers 



148 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

began to be uneasy about the result. Hundreds and 
thousands were stricken down ; the shri oks of animals 
and screams of wounded men were appalling ; still the 
awful rushing sound of flying missiles went on, and 
apparently never would cease." 

It was then, when the firmest hearts had begun to 
quail, the army witnessed one of the grandest sights 
ever beheld by any army on earth, — a deed of heroism 
such as we are apt to attribute only to the knights of 
the olden time. Suddenly the band began to play "The 
Star-Spangled Banner," and Hancock, mounted, and 
accompanied by his stafi*, Maj. W. G. Mitchell, Capt. 
Harry Bingham, Capt. Isaac Parker, and Capt. E. P. 
Bronson, with the corps flag flying in the hands of a 
brave Irishman, Private James Wells, of the Sixth New 
York Cavalry, started at the right of his line, where it 
joins the Taneytown road, and slowly rode along the 
terrible crest in front of the line, to the extreme left of 
his position, while shot and shell roared and crashed 
around him, and every moment tore great gaps in the 
ranks at his side. 

The soldiers held their breath, expecting every 
moment to see him fall from his horse pierced by a 
dozen bullets. It was a gallant deed, and, withal, not a 
reckless exposure of life ; for the presence and calm 
demeanor of the commander, as he passed through the 
lines of his men, set them an example which an hour 
later bore good fruit, and nerved their stout hearts to 
win the greatest and most decisive battle ever fought 
on this continent. Every soldier felt his heart thrill as 
he witnessed the magn icent courage of his General, 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 149 

and he resolved to do something that day which would 
equal it in daring. 

There could be no fitter subject for the heroic ballad 
than this incident, which has thus been told : — 

"A hundred guns — yes, fifty more — 

Rained down their shot and shell 
As if, from out its yawning door, 

Drove the red blast of heU. 
The hiss ! the crash ! the shriek ! the groan ! 

The ceaseless iron hail ! 
All this for half the day. I own 

It made the stoutest quail 

" But sudden, far to left, we heard 

The band strike up : and lo ! 
Full in our front — no breath was stirred — 

Came Hancock, riding slow. 
As slow as if on dress-parade. 

All down the line to right 
And back again. By my good blade, 

Was ever such a v^ight ? 

" We lay at length. No ranks could stand 

Against that tempest wild ; 
Yet on he rode, with hat in hand. 

And looked, and bowed, and smiled. 
Whatever fears we had belbre 

Were gone That sight, you know, 
Just made us fifty thousand more, 

All hot to lace the foe. 

** You've heard the rest How on they came ; 

Earth shaking at their tread ; 
A cheer ; our ranks burst into flame ; 

Steel crossed ; the foe had fled. 
Yet still that dauntless form I see, 

Slow riding down the line. 
Was ever deed of chivalry 

So grand, oh, comraae mine?'* 



150 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OP 

Just as Hancock reached the left of his line, the 
rebel batteries ceased to play, and their infantry, 
eighteen thousand strong, were seen emerging from the 
woods and advancing up the hill. Hancock knew the 
artillery fire had been intended to demoralize his men, 
and cover the advance of their infantry, which was to 
make the real attack. Turning his horse, he rode 
slowly up his line from left to right, holding his hat in 
his hand, bowing and smiling to the troops as they lay 
flat on the ground. Hardly had he reached the right 
of the line when the men, who, inspired by the courage 
of their General, could now hardly restrain themselves, 
received orders to attack the advancing rebels. 

Eighty of his guns then opened their brazen mouths ; 
solid shot and shell were sent on their errand of de- 
struction in quick succession. They could be seen to 
fall in countless numbers among the advancing troops. 
The accuracy of the fire could not be excelled ; the 
missiles struck rio:ht in the ranks, tearino^ and rendinor 
them in every direction. The ground over which they 
had passed was strewn with dead and wounded. But, 
on they came, with bayonets flashing, and standards 
gayly flapping in the wind, marching steadily across the 
interval. The distance was nearly a mile, too great 
to double-quick, and those lines of gray moved on in 
common time, but with a steadiness and precision 
seldom equalled. The gaps in their ranks were closed 
as soon as made. 

General Mulholland, in describing this charge, pays 
this merited compliment to the bravery of the Southern 
troops : " Our gunners now load with canister, and the 



WESTFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 151 

effect is appalling; but still they march on. Their 
gallantry is past all praise ; it is sublime. Now they 
are within a hundred yards. Our infantry rise up and 
pour round after round into these heroic troops. At 
Waterloo the Old Guard recoiled before a less severe 
fii*e. But there was no recoil in these men of the 
South ; they marched right on as though they courted 
death." 

At the objective point of the Confederate attack was 
but a single line of men, two ranks, with no reserves 
in sight ; and as the men stood there in one feeble 
but undaunted line, each man felt that he must die in 
his tracks if necessary, as a break in the line would 
cause a defeat of the army. 

As the enemy came nearer, they grew more excited ; 
and inspired by their officers and the hopes of an easy 
victory, they started on the run, filling the air with 
their peculiar yells. But when they reached a point 
where musket-firing became effective, the veterans of 
the Peninsula, Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Chancel- 
lorsville poured in upon them such a volley as to stag- 
ger them and throw them into confusion. This was 
followed by a rapid fire that caused them to fall back. 

Pettigrew followed Pickett, and when his division 
came in range he received like treatment ; but the 
enemy were so persistent that they actually obtained a 
foothold upon the Union line, and in some places 
hand-to-hand fights took place. 

General Hancock was everywhere, exposed to dan- 
ger and cheering the men by his presence. He 
detected the exposed position of the left flank of Petti- 



152 LIFE AKD PUBLIC SEKVICES OF 

grew's division, and caused a flank movement that re- 
sulted in the capture of many prisoners and several 
stand of colors. The terrible assault was beaten back, 
and the battle was won. A few of the Confederates 
here and there ran away and tried to regain their lines 5 
but many laid down their arms and came in as prison- 
ers. Of that attacldng force, five thousand men sur- 
rendered to Hancock's troops, and thirty stand of colors 
were gathered up in front of the Second Corps. 

It was then, in the supreme moment of triumphant 
battle, that Hancock fell, among his men, at the front, 
on the line of Stannard's Vermont brigade. He was 
seen to reel in his saddle, and was helped to the 
ground — but not to the rear. 

" Shall we not carry you to the rear. General ? " in- 
quired Colonel Vesey, who was near him. 

"No, I thank you, Colonel," said Hancock, waving 
his hand, even in pain, with the grace for which he was 
noted. "Attend to your commands, gentlemen; I 
will take care of myself." 

So he remained and continued to direct the fight 
until victory was secured. Then he sent Major 
Mitchell to General Meade, with the following mes- 
sage : — " The troops under my command have repulsed 
the enemy's assault, and we have gained a great vic- 
tory. The enemy is now flying in all directions in my 
front." The aid, in delivering this message, added the 
information, of which General Meade was then i^^no- 
rant, that General Hancock was desperately wounded. 
General Meade sent back the following reply : " Say to 
General Hancock that I am sorry he is wounded, and 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 153 

that I thank him, for the country and for myself, for the 
service he has rendered to-day." For such services no 
thanks and no reward coukl be adequate. Congress, 
by joint resolution, three years later, thanked General 
Hancock for his "gallant, meritorious, and conspicuous 
share in that great and decisive victory;" but the 
country will never forget how much it owed the 
salvation of the Union to his services on that field. 



154: LIPE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OP 



CHAPTER Xn. 

After Gettysburg. — General Meade's Report. — Hancock's Fight 
" Terminated the Battle." — His Opinion of the Battle and its 
Results. — Hancock's Wound. — The Surgeon's Story. — His Jour- 
ney Home. — Invalid Soldiers carry him on their Shoulders to hia 
Father's Plouse. — At ''Longwood" with his Family. — He Re- 
turns to Duty. — Recruiting the Second Corps. — Honors to Han- 
cock in Northern Cities. 

The battle of Gettysburg decided the war for the 
Union ; Hancock decided the battle of Gettysburg. 
General Meade, in his official report of this battle, 
says of the part taken by Hancock on this last decisive 
day :— 

*' An assault was made with great firmness, directed prin- 
cipall}^ against the point occupied by the Second Corps, and 
was repelled with equal firmness by the troops of that corps, 
supported by Doubleda3''s division and Stannard's brigade of 
the First Corps. During this assault, both INIajor-General 
Hancock, commanding the left centre, and Brigadier-General 
Gibson, commanding the Second Corps, were severely 
wounded. 

"This terminated the battle, the enemy retiring to his 
Hues, leaving the field strewn with his dead and wounded, 
and numerous prisoners in our hands." 

History has given General Hancock his due as the 
** directing mind" which, on the first day of the battle 
evolved order out of confusion among the broken and 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 155 

flying troops of Meade's advance and placed the army 
in the position where it could fight and win the great 
battle of the war ; as the prompt and sagacious com- 
mander who on the second day saved the key of the 
battle-field to the Union army ; and as the valiant 
fighter who, by his personal bravery, inspired his troops 
to repel the culminating assault on the third and last 
day, and win the battle for the Kepublic. General 
Meade appreciatively said : " No commanding general 
ever had better lieutenant than Hancock. He was 
always faithful and reliable." 

Twelve years later. General Hancock wrote thus 
generously of his comrades in the battle of Gettys- 
burg : — 

"As the terrible contest at Gettj^sburg contributed in its 
results probably more than any other battle of the war to the 
maintenance of the Union in its integrity, so, far above pri- 
vate interests or individual reputations, rises the great renown 
won on that field by the grand old Army of the Potomac. 

"Cemetery Hill has since become consecrated ground. 
The place where General Howard was superseded in com- 
mand on the first day of the fight is now covered with the 
graves of thousands of gallant soldiers whose bones lie 
buried at tlie base of the beautiful monumental column which 
commemorates their fame. Two of the marble statues orna- 
menting the pedestal personify War and History. War, 
symbolized by a soldier resting from the conflict, narrates to 
History' the story of the struggle, and the deeds of the martyr- 
heroes who fell in that famous battle. In remembrance of 
those noble comrades who laid down their Uves for the gen- 
eral weal, it were simply sacrilege for any survivor to pour 
into the ears of History an incorrect account of the contest ; 



156 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OP 

still more to assume to himself honors belonging perhaps less 
to the living than to the dead. 

'• " The historian of the future who essays to tell the tale of 
Gettysburg undertakes an onerous task, a high responsibility, 
a sacred trust. Above all things, justice and truth should 
dwell in his mind and heart. Then, dipping his pen as it 
were in the crimson tide, the sunshine of heaven lighting his 
page, giving 'honor to whom honor is due,' doing even justice 
to the splendid valor alike of friend and foe, he may tell the 
world how rain descended in streams of fire, and the floods 
came in billows of rebellion, and the winds blew in blasts of 
fraternal execration, and beat upon the fabric of the Federal 
Union, and that it fell not ; for, resting upon the rights and 
liberties of the people, it was founded upon a rock." 

The scene of the repulse of Longstreet's grand 
charge by Hancock was indescribable. In front of the 
line of the Second Corps the dead lay in great heaps. 
Dismounted guns, ruins of exploded caissons, dead and 
mutilated men and horses were piled up together in 
every direction. The colonel of one of Pickett's regi- 
ments lay dead, his arms clasping the body of his 
brother, who was major of his regiment. They were 
singularly handsome men, and greatly resembled each 
other. Out on the field where Longstreet's corps had 
passed, thousands of wounded were lying. There was 
no means of reaching these poor fellows, and many of 
them lay there between the lines until the morning of 
the 5th. 

Many noble officers and men were lost on both sides, 
and in the camp hospital they died by hundreds during 
the afternoon and nis^ht. The rebel General Armistead 
died in this way. As he was being carried to the rear 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 157 

he was met by Capt. Harry Bingham, of Hancock's 
staff, who, gettmg off his horse, asked Iiim if he could 
do anything for him. Armistead requested him to 
take his watch and spurs to General Hancock, that they 
misrht be sent to his relatives. His wishes were com- 
plied with, General Hancock sending them to his 
friends the first opportunity. Armistead was a brave 
soldier, with a most chivalric presence, and came for- 
ward in front of his brigade, waving his sword. He 
was shot through the body and fell inside of our lines. 
All the next day, July 4, the anniversary of the 
Declaration of Independence, the army lay quiet, 
awaitino: events. On the mornins: of the 5th the 
enemy had disappeared. Meantime Hancock had been 
taken to the hospital and his wound treated as well as 
possible. It was a terrible stroke. Dr. Alexander N. 
Dougherty was Medical Director of the Second Corps 
at that time, and he tells the story in this way : — 

"When General Hancock succeeded General Conch as 
commander of the old Second Corps, I became his Medical 
Director. At the battle of Gettysburg he commanded the 
First, Second, and Third Corps, one-half of the army. In 
the third day's fight at Gettysburg he was wounded, and I 
was sent for. I found him lying on the hill-slope, under a 
tree, and facing the enemy. There was a deep, wide gash 
in his leg, near the groin. In the wound were wood splinters 
and a tenpenny nail. General Hancock was anxious to know 
what the rebels were using in their shells. He thought he 
had been wounded by splinters from one of the cnem3''s 
shells. We put him into an ambulance, and I lay down be- 
side him. Then we drove thi'ough a hot fire to mj- hospital. 



158 LITE AKD PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

Afterward I discovered that a bullet had penetrated his sad- 
dle, and then lodged in his thigh, carrying with it the wood 
splinters and the tenpenny nail. As he lay in the hospital in 
great pain, I, at his dictation, wrote his first despatch to 
General Meade announcing the victor}^ won at Gettysburg, 
adding to the despatch that the defeat would be turned into 
a rout. He was calm, patient, and heroic. He is equally 
entitled with Meade to the honor of the Adctorj^ at Gettys- 
burg, and Meade would say so if he were alive. On the 
night of the second day's battle a council of war was held. 
It was proposed to fall back and establish the line of battle 
at Pipe Creek, but Hancock opposed it. He argued that the 
arm}^ should stay where it was, and he said that the Army of 
the Potomac had made its last retreat, and should fight or 
die on the line where the battle was begun. General Meade 
finall}^ coincided with Hancock, and the result was that that 
great victory crippled the rebels so that they never recovered 
from it." 

General Hancock went home on sick leave, wounded 
nio^h unto death. The ball which tore throuG^h his sad- 
die and made that cruel wound in liis thic:h could not 
be found by the surgeons, and it was still in his body 
when he went back to Norristown. 

He travelled as easily as possible, although every 
movement was torture to his shattered limb. A 
stretcher was laid over the backs of the seats of the 
railway car, and thus he rode into his native town. 
Arrived at the station in Norristown, he w^as met by a 
detachment of the Invalid Guards, who tenderly placed 
him on their shoulders, lying on the stretcher, and car- 
ried him through the streets to his father's house, his 
boyhood's home. 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 159 

It was a deeply moving sight. The bright and fun- 
loving boy of seemingly a few years ago was brought 
home a wounded hero, borne on the shoulders of the 
men whom he had led in battle for their country. The 
doorways and windows were crowded as the little cor- 
tege passed, and people did not cheer, but spoke with 
voices hushed in sympathy. 

General Hancock looked like a dying man when he 
was brought home to Norristown, and his parents and 
his old friends were oppressed with the gloomiest fore- 
bodings of the future. 

As has been said, the ball was still in his body. The 
surgeons at the army hospital had probed for it while 
the General lay in a recumbent posture ; but one day 
the family physician who attended him in Norristown 
had a bright idea and asked the General to place him- 
self as nearly as he could in the position which he 
occupied on his horse wdien he was hit. The General 
straddled a chair and did so, and the doctor pushed the 
probe in easily and found the ball. It was lodged close 
upon the bone, which was more or less splintered. 

The work of extracting the ball was then easy ; and 
when this was done General Hancock's recovery, though 
slow, was steady. 

Indeed, early in September, hardly more than two 
months after he received the wound on the bloody field 
of Gettysburg, General Hancock was able to leave 
Norristown and travel toward his Vv^estern home, where 
he had left his wdfe and children. 

He travelled by easy stages, for his wound was 
troublesome j but always his chief thought Tvas how 



160 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

he mi2:ht return to the field and enoraire as^ain in the 
work that still needed the hands of patriots. At New 
York we find him writing home for certain military 
documents to be forwarded to him. At West Point he 
stopped for consultation. 

It was a tedious and painful journey, but it was 
lightened by the enthusiastic receptions which awaited 
the wounded hero at every tarrying place. Every one 
joined to do him honor ; public attention welcomed 
him on every side. As soon as possible he reached 
his family at his home near St. Louis, which he had 
named "Lonijwood." He tells in a letter home how 
his recovery progressed ; — 

LoNGwooD, Mo., Oct. 12, 1863. 

My Dear Father : — I threw aside my crutches a few 
days after in}^ arrival, and now walk with a cane. I am 
improving, but do not j^et walk without a little " roll." My 
wound is still unhealed, though the doctors say it is closing 
rapidly. I find some uneasiness in sitting long in a chair, 
and cannot j'et ride. The bone appears to be injui-ed and 
may give me trouble for a long time. I hope, however, I 
may be well enough in two weeks to join m}^ corps. 

I am busy in trimming up the forest trees in the lawn of 
*' Longwood," which covers nearly eleven acres. I know it is 
not the best time, but still it will do. 

Alice and the children send their best love to you and 
mother. Please give my best love to mother, and I remain, 
as ever, 

Yom* affectionate son, 

AViNFiELi) S. Hancock. 

But General Hancock was compelled to hold liis eager 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 161 

soul in the leash of patience some time longer. His 
commission as Major in the regular army came Nov. 
3, 1863, but still he was too feeble to return to duty. 
His spirit chafed under this restraint, and although the 
Army of the Potomac, with his own gallant Second 
Corps, was engaged during the ; ummer and fall in what 
was termed a campaign of manoeuvres, with no dis- 
tinocuishinof battles, he lonsfed to be with them. 

It was not until December, 1863, that he was able to 
enter active service again. He was then ordered to 
Washington ; and although his Gettysburg wound was 
not healed, he obeyed with alacrity, reporting to the 
War Department, Dec. 27. 

The army then being in winter quarters. General 
Hancock was sent on recruiting duty. Although the 
Confederacy was on its last legs, it still had vitality, 
and its leaders were persistent in their struggle for 
Southern independence. So Hancock was given author- 
ity to increase his corps to fifty thousand efiective men, 
and was sent north to stir up the patriotism of the 
people and induce enlistments. His headquarters were 
established at Harrisburg, and he immediately set to 
work in his native State, issuing the following address 
under date of Jan. 15, 1864 : — 

To THE People of Pennsylvania : 

I have come among yoa as a Pennsylvanian, for the pur- 
pose of endeavoring to aid 3'ou in stimulating enlistments. 
This is a matter of interest to all the citizens of the State. I 
earnestly call upon you all to assist, by the exertion of all the 
influence in jour power, in this important matter. 

To adequately reinforce our armies in the field is to insure 



162 LITE AISD PUBLIC SERVICES OP 

that the war will not reach youi' homes. It will be the means 
of bringing it to a speedy and happy conclusion. It will save 
the lives of many of our brave soldiers which would be other- 
wise lost by the prolongation of the war, and in indecisive 
battles. 

It is only necessary to destroy' the rebel armies now in 
the field, to insure a speedy and permanent peace. Let us all 
act with that fact in view. 

Let it not be said that Penns3^1vania, which has already 
given so many of her sons to this righteous cause, shall now, 
at the eleventh hour, be behind her sister States in furnishing 
her quota of the men deemed necessary to end this rebellion. 
Let it not be that those Penns3'lvania regiments, now so de- 
pleted, that have won for themselves so much honor in the 
field, shall pass out of existence for want of patriotism in the 

people. 

WiNFiELD S. Hancock, 

Major-General U. S. Volunteers, 

Hancock was pre-eminently the man for the work to 
which he was set. Bravest among the brave, loyal to 
the core, wearing already the wreath of victor won in 
the hardest battle, a stanch Democrat, a soldier who 
carried a yet unhealed wound on his person, and, 
beyond all, possessed of that magnetic power which 
leads men captive, he had a success which few others 
could have achieved in recruitino^ the waninsf streno^th 
of the Union Army. 

Philadelphia tendered him a public reception, placing 
the historic Independence Hall at his service in a special 
vote of thanks and welcome by the Select and Common 
Councils of the city government. The city of New 
York placed the governors room, in the City Hall, at 



, WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 163 

his disposal for the same purpose, and received him 
with great distinction. At Albany, the Legislature 
paid him an official tribute of respect for his distin- 
guished services to the country. In Boston, the Legis- 
lature, which was then in session, invited him upon the 
floor of the House, and a public reception was given 
him by the merchants and citizens at the Merchants' 
Exchange. The people then, as now, looked up to 
him as one of their heroes. 



164 LIFE Aia> PUBLIC SERVICES or 



CHAPTER Xin. 

The "Wilderness. — Grant takes Command of all the Armies. — The 
Army of the Potomac crosses the Rapilaa. — Hancock Leads the 
Advance. — The Two Days' Fight in the Wilderness. — The Story of 
One of the gallant Second Corps. — Hancock leads the Charge 
against Longstreet's Men over the Breastworks. 

It was March of the year 18G4 when Hancock was 
again called to take command of the corps which ho 
had so valiantly and effectively led, and which he had 
so efficiently recruited. On the 2d of that month, 
Grant had been confirmed in the grade of Lieutenant- 
General, and on the 10th he had been assigned, by a 
special order of President Lincoln, to the command of 
"all the armies of the United States." The Army of 
the Potomac had been recruited up to a high standard, 
largely through the efibrts of General Hancock, and 
the Union and Confederate forces lay facing each other 
along the Papidan. 

On the 18th of March General Hancock, still actively 
engaged in recruiting his corps at Harrisburg, Penn., 
wrote to his father : " I have just received an order from 
the Secretary of War to report without delay to him 
for instructions prior to rejoining my command in the 
field. I have but time to notif}^ you of the fact." With 
this modest announcement Hancock set out on the 
campaign that was to end the war of Rebellion. 

The Second Corps, Hancock's old command, was still 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 1G5 

further augmented by the addition of the gallant Third 
Corps, making in all upwards of fifty thousand men, 
beside which the General had under his command part 
of the Fifth, Sixth, and Ninth Corps, — an army of 
veterans, tried by fire. Grant had in the Army of the 
Potomac, as reorganized, a movable column of about 
one hundred and forty thousand men ; while against 
him was Lee, holding Richmond, with an army whose 
rolls at this time showed only fifty-two thousand six 
hundred and twenty-six men of all arms. The horn- 
had come in which the Eebellion could be crushed. 

On the od of May the order went forth that the Army 
of the Potomac should launch forth on its great ad- 
venture. Lee's army occupied the blufis that skirt the 
south bank of the Rapidan for many miles. It was a 
position impregnable to direct assault, and Grant's plan 
was to cross the river by the lower fords and turn the 
right of the Confederate army. 

Hancock's corps left Culpepper Court-House on the 
night of the 3d of May, leading the advance in the post 
of honor w^hich was eminently his due. They crossed 
Ely's Ford on the morning of the 4th, advancing to 
Chancellors ville, and bivouacking that night on the old 
battle-ground, where, one year before, they had fought 
a losing fight, though a brave one, under Hooker. 

On the following day. May 5, the long fight began, 
which has gone into history with the name of the Battle 
of the AYilderness. Hancock who took the advance of 
the left column, pushed on far ahead, and was able to 
secure and hold a strategic point on the Orange plank 
road, which the Confederate General Hill endeavored 



166 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OP 

to capture. About four o'clock in the afternoon, the 
attack was made in the midst of the dense growth 
which gave that country its name of the " Wilderness." 
The fight at once grew very fierce, the opposing forces 
beins^ very close together, and the musketry continuous 
and deadly along the whole line. In his report of this 
battle, Lee makes mention of " Hancock's repeated and 
desperate assaults." In his own report, Hancock speaks 
of the close and deadly character of the combat, and 
has a special word to say of the Irish brigade, under 
Colonels Smythe and Brooks, which "attacked the 
enemy vigorously on his right, and drove his line some 
distance." " The Irish brigade," says Hancock, further, 
"was heavily engaged, and although four-fifths of its 
numbers were recruits, it behaved with great steadiness 
and gallantry, losing largely in killed and wounded." 

Hancock continued his efforts to drive Hill until eight 
o'clock, when night shut down on the darkening woods 
and ended the struggle. The combatants lay on their 
arms, exhausted after the fierce struggle, and many 
corpses in the tangled brakes and bushes told of the 
bloody work done that day. 

Thus was the battle of the AVilderness opened. It 
was fought in a country whose natural features were 
peculiarly disadvantageous for the movements of an 
army. The whole face of the country was thickly 
wooded, with only an occasional opening, and inter- 
sected by a few narrow wood-roads. But the woods 
of the Wilderness did not have the ordinary features of 
a forest. The rescion is one of mineral rocks, and for 
more than a hundred years extensive iron mining had 



WIKFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 167 

been carried on there. To feed the mines, the timber 
of the country for many miles around had been cut 
down, and in its place there had arisen a dense under- 
growth of low-limbed and scraggy pines, stiff and 
bristling chincapins, scrub-oaks and hazel. Swinton, 
in describing the theatre of what he justly calls this 
singular and terrible combat, says, : " It is a region of 
gloom and the shadow of death. Manoeuvring here 
was necessarily out of the question, and only Indian 
tactics told. The troops could only receive direction 
by a point of the compass ; for not only were the 
lines of battle entirely hidden from the sight of the 
commander, but no officer could see ten files on each 
side of him. Artillery was wholly ruled out of use ; 
the massive concentration of three hundred guns stood 
silent, and only an occasional piece or section could be 
brought into play in the roadsides. Cavalry was still 
more useless. But in that horrid thicket there lurked 
two hundred thousand men, and through it lurid fires 
played ; and, though no array of battle could be seen, 
there came out of its depths the crackle and roll of 
musketry, like the noisy boiling of some hell-cauldron 
that told the dread story of death." 

Hancock was also to bear the brunt of the battle on 
the following day. Both armies were awake early to 
assume the ofiensive. And when, at five o'clock, Han- 
cock opened the attack on the enemy in his front, he 
overpowered the Confederates, and, after an hour's 
severe contest, the whole hostile front was carried, and 
the enemy driven a mile and a half through the woods, 
under heavy loss, back on the Confederates' headquar- 



1G8 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

ters. Longstreet's arrivjil alone saved Lee's army from 
litter and complete defeat at that time. Indeed, the 
tables were nearly turned ; for a fire in the woods, 
creeping up towards the breastwork of logs, behind 
which one of Hancock's division w^as placed, set the 
works ablaze, and drove the smoke and flame back 
upon the men with such fury, that they were unable to 
fn^c over the parapet, and the enemy, pressing forward, 
planted their standard on the breastworks. Then it was 
that Hancock in person led the assault of his gallant 
corps and drove out the invaders w^th a rush. 

One of those who fought under Hancock m the Wil- 
derness, describes this battle : — 

" The fighting of the battle of the Wilderness commenced, 
as YOU remember, on May »5, 1864. Om- combined troops, 
known as the Second Corps, were given a central position, 
with a plank road to protect. The Fifth Corps was on om* 
right, and the Sixth on the left. For three days, until the 
8th, our positions remained unchanged. On that day there 
was little fighting in front of us, and there was no evidence 
that we would be disturbed. But General Hancock's fore- 
sight on this occasion, as on many others, did not assert itself 
in vain. All day long, under his orders, we were bus}' in 
intrenching ourselves. During the day General Sedgwick, of 
the Fifth Corps, came riding along with his staff and saw us 
at work. 

" ' What in the hell are you doing there?' he said, in his 
brusque way. 

" ' I am expecting an assault,' replied Hancock. 

" ' But there will be none,' Sedgwick answered ; ' the fight- 
ing will be over there on the right.' 

'' ' That may be,' replied Hancock, quietly, ' but I'm going 
to be ready/ 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 1G9 

*' ' What cau 3'ou do with a single corps?' persisted Sedg- 
wick ; ' if the rebels come here they will bring their whole 
arm3\' 

" ' Well,' said General Hancock, ' let them come. 1 am 
going to hold this road.' 

'' It seemed to me that the whole rebel arm}^ did come. 
About four o'clock that ver}^ day, Hill's and Longstreet's corps 
were massed against us and fought for three hours. We were 
almost driven out of our position. Many of our troops had 
already turned to run, and defeat seemed imminent. But we 
finally rallied, and stopped the advancing enem}'. A few 
moments more and tlie gray coats were in turn retreating. 

" Over our works went Hancock, leading the pursuit, and we 
following him closel3\ We drove them about a mile and a 
half back, into the very centre of their position. That was 
the close of the battle of the Wilderness. That nisht the 
Confederate army retreated to Spottsylvania. 

"Hancock on that day was here, there, and everywhere, 
directing our movements. I don't know how he ever came to 
expect that attack ; but he was ready. I suppose it was his 
wonderful foresight. Ail da}^ long he hurried us, and was 
continuall}^ warning us that the earthworks would not be 
completed in time to protect us." 

This practically ended the battle of the Wilderness. 
Hancock, as usual, had occupied the post of danger 
and of honor ; he had driven the enemy before him, 
bad suffered severely, and had wrested success out of 
the jaAvs of defeat by one of those superb exhibitions 
of personal valor which add such brilliancy to his grand 
military genius. 

When the third day, May 7, dawned, neither army 
cared to take the initiative, and a cavalry combat at 



170 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

Todd's Farm was the only incident. Tens of thousands 
of dead and wounded, in bhie and in gray, lay in the 
thick woods. The Union loss exceeded fifteen thou- 
sand ; the Confederates lost about eight thousand. Such 
was the cruel ending of this strange and horrible battle, 
which no man could see, whose progress could be fol- 
lowed only by the ear as the sharp and crackling vol- 
leys of musketry, and the alternate Union cheer and 
Confederate yell, told how the fight surged and swelled. 
But Hancock still held his advanced position. Lee 
had lost Longstreet, dangerously wounded by the fire 
of his own men, and Grant determined to go on toward 
Richmond. Hancock pushed forward his advance on 
Sunday, May 8, and the entire line followed. 



WINTIELD SCOTT HAJ^COCK. 171 



CHAPTER XIY. 

Spottsylvania. — Hancock fights the Battle of the Po. — General 
Sedgwick's Death. — The Bloodiest Battle of the War. — Hancock 
Takes and Holds the Famous '* Salient Angle." — "A Morning Call " 
on General Johnson. — Hancock's Ketort. — Accounts of the Spott- 
sylvania Fight by Eye-witnesses. 

Grant's purpose was to move southward from the 
Wilderness and plant himself between Lee's army and 
Richmond by a movement upon Spottsylvania Court- 
House, fifteen miles distant. But Lee was too quick 
for him, and on Monday, May 9, the Confederates had 
taken possession of Spottsylvania Court-House, planted 
their army across Grant's line of march, and drawn up 
on Spottsylvania Ridge a bulwark of defence where, for 
twelve days, they were able to hold in check the Army 
of the Potomac. 

This army was all brought into position on the 9th, 
and although no engagement occurred, the enemy's 
sharp-shooters brought down an illustrious victim in 
the person of General Sedgwick, commanding the 
Sixth Corps, who was shot while standing on the 
breastworks along his line, and almost instantly expired. 

These sharpshooters were perched in the forest- 
trees above the heads and out of sisrht of the Union 
skirmishers, and played havoc along our line. One 
who stood by General Sedgwick when he fell, describes 
the scene : — 



172 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

* ' A little hum of leaden bees about the advanced liue of 
breastworks caused the soldiers to dodge and duck their 
heads. The General smiled at them good-naturedly ; he had 
a winning smile. Finally one bee hummed so near a poor 
Irishman's auricle that he dropped down upon his face. Gen- 
eral Sedgwick touched him with his foot in humorous dis- 
dain : ' Pooh, pooh, man ! Who ever heard of a soldier 
dodging a bullet ! Why, they couldn't hit an elephant at this 
distance ! ' There was a laugh at this, even though the 
straggling bees yet hummed unpleasantly around. The Gen- 
eral was still smiling over the banter, when Colonel McMahon 
heard the buzz of a bullet culminate in what seemed an 
explosion close beside him. ' That must have been an ex- 
plosive bullet. General.' No answer. But as the face of 
General Sedgwick slightly turned toward the beloved officer 
at his side, a curious, sad, not despairing, but almost con- 
tented smile was upon it. Another moment, and the form of 
the General fell helplessly backward. It was caught by 
Colonel McMahon as it fell. A ball had entered the face 
just below the left eye, pierced the brain, and passed out at 
the back of the head. He never spoke afterward, though he 
breathed softly for awhile." 

Durinof the afternoon Hancock was directed to make 
a movement across the Eiver Po for the purpose of 
capturing a Confederate wagon-train ; where, on the 
following day, having been recalled to assist in an 
attack on another position, Hancock repulsed a despe- 
rate assault of the enemy. During the beat of the 
contest, the woods in the rear of the troops, between 
them and the river, took fire ; and in the midst of these 
appalling perils, with a fierce foe in front and a blazing 
forest behind, Hancock not only repelled the enemy, 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 173 

but conducted his command across the river. Here 
he lost the first gun that the Second Corps had ever 
abandoned on the field. It was left behind in con- 
sequence of being sunk in a marsh. 

Hot work awaited Hancock on his return. The hill 
which he was to assault, in conjunction with Warren's 
corps, was, as he states in his report, the most formid- 
able point along the enemy's whole front. Its densely 
wooded crest was crowned with earthworks, while the 
approach, which was swept by artillery and musketry 
fire, was rendered more difficult and hazardous by a 
heavy growth of cedars, — mostly dead, — the long, 
bayonet-like branches of which, interlaced and pointing 
in all directions, presented an almost impassable barrier 
to the advance of a line of battle. Hancock led the 
assault at five o'clock in the afternoon ; and althousfh 
he returned again and again to the attack, and the men 
even entered the enemy's breastworks at one or two 
points, the task was an impossible one. 

Finding that he could not succeed against Lee's left, 
Grant resolved to make a sudden sally against his right 
centre, and Hancock's corps was again chosen to lead 
the way, the rest of the army in support. 

On the night of May 11, Hancock moved his men 
into position ; and at half-past four o'clock the next 
morning, as soon as the faint dawn permitted the direc- 
tion of advance to be seen through thick fog which 
prevailed, he moved forward. He advanced by the 
compass, no landmarks being visible in the fog and 
the thicket, and without firing a shot captured the Con- 
federate pickets. Then, taking the double-quick, the 



174 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

troops, with a ringing cheer, rolled like a resistless 
wave into the enemy's works, tearing away with their 
hands what abatis there was in front of the intrench- 
ments, and carried the line at all points. Inside the 
intrenchments there ensued a savage hand-to-hand 
combat with the bayonet and clubbed muskets. 

The fight was of short duration, resulting in the 
capture of General Johnson and nearly the whole of 
his division, four thousand men, twenty pieces of artil- 
lery, and thirty colors. The rest of the force fled to 
the rear in great confusion. 

The point where Hancock struck the enemy's lino of 
works was where it formed what is called a salient ; 
and, having burst open this angle, Hancock had driven 
a wedge between the right and centre of the enemy, 
and was in a position to rive asunder the Confederate 
army. Lee made no less than five desperate assaults 
to regain this position ; but Hancock was ably sup- 
ported, and the enemy was successfully repulsed. 

Speaking of this affair, Swinton says that " of all 
the struggles of the war, this was perhaps the fiercest 
and most deadly. Frequently throughout the conflict, 
so close was the contest that the rival standards were 
planted on opposite sides of the breastworks. The 
enemy's most savage sallies were directed to retake the 
famous salient which was now become an angle of death, 
and presented a spectacle ghastly and terrible. On 
the Confederate side of the works lay many corpses 
of those who had been bayoneted by Hancock's men 
when they first leaped the intrenchments. To these 
were constantly added the bravest of those who, in the 



WIKFIELD SCOTT HAIfCOCK. 175 

assaults to recapture the position, fell at the margin of 
the works, till the ground was literally covered with 
piles of dead, and the woods in front of the salient 
were one hideous Golgotha." It is further stated that 
the musketry fire was so terrible as to kill the whole 
forest within its range, trees even eighteen inches in 
diameter being cut clean in two by the bullets. 

At midnight, after twenty hours of combat, Lee with- 
drew his bleeding lines. And, although the loss on the 
Union side was terrible, Hancock's victory had a moral 
effect upon the army which was worth all it cost. 

The story of his light, as told by one of the officers 
serving under Hancock, gives some entertaining inci- 
dents as observed by an actor in and an eye-witness of 
the battle : — • 

" We were on the extreme right on the Po River. We 
fought there on the 10th and 11th without changing our posi- 
tions. The Confederates were intrenched on some of the 
hills that ran around in the form of a crescent. We were on 
the outside of this crescent, and they on the inside. We got 
rather the worst of it during the two daj^s' fighting. 

"On the evening of the 11th, about six o'clock, Hancock 
sent word to each of his division commanders, that he had 
orders to go to the extreme left. I was informed at the time, 
and on good authority, that Hancock went directly to Grant, 
and received permission to make the move. That was the 
understanding then and afterwards, anyway, in our corps. 
We did not know how this manoeuvre would result, but we 
were willing to trust any stratagem of our commander. So 
all night long we marched quietly around the entire army. 
Oui' line then extended about eight miles. 

' ' We reached the extreme point on the left, indicated by 



176 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

Hancock, about four a. m., on the 12th. It was just in the 
gray of the morning. We were then entirely cut off from the 
balance of our army, and were on the right of the enemy. 
General Hancock massed his corps into three lines, and 
started the charge at a quarter past four. 

"Up the side of the hill we went, hurriedly and quietly. 
About half a mile from the intrenched lines of the enem}'' we 
encountered their pickets. Every man was captured without 
firing a gun. Advancing, we took their first line without a 
sound. The second line made some resistance ; but we cap- 
tured them with but little difficult3^ and charged theii' third 
and last line with equal success. It was a complete surprise 
to the enemy. We were only thirty minutes from the time 
we started, until we reached the ver}^ heart of the enemy's 
camp. It was one of the most brilliant and successful moves 
of the war. 

"I was the witness of a little incident on that occasion, 
which might be interesting. When we had captured the third 
line. General Hancock, who, as usual, was leading us, rode 
up to the headquarters of General Johnson, who was com- 
manding the division of the enemy we had assaulted. I for- 
get his first name, but I remember that he and Hancock were 
classmates at AVest Point. An orderly stood outside the tent. 
I was standing near by at the time and saw Hancock when 
he rode up. 

" ' Is General Johnson in ? ' he asked of the orderly, who 
replied in the affirmative. 

"'Ask him to step out,' said Hancock; and presently 
Johnson appeared, buttoning up his clothes, for he was not 
3'et dressed. 

" 'I have come to make you a morning call,' remarked 
our general, pleasantU', at the same time extending his hand. 
But Johnson was furious. 

" ' I cannot take your hand on such an occasion as this,* 
he exclaimed, angrQy. 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 177 

*''0h, well,' answered General Hancock, 'j^ou can do 
just as you please ; only I thought I would like to make just 
as pleasant a job of this as possible. Under other circum- 
stances I would not have offered you m}'' hand.' 

' ' In this retort the character of the man revealed itself in 
strong colors. He respected misfortune in any man, but 
could not be friendl}^ to a rebel in arms. 

" Then the defeated general was tm'ned over to some staff 
officer and carried to the rear. 

" Having gained this position, we had to keep it. Fearing 
an attack, we immediatel}' commenced to intrench ourselves. 
About two hours afterwards, the enemy's troops came upon 
us in a solid mass, under cover of their artillery. Hancock 
was going ever3^where, talking to our troops. 

" •• Boys,' said he, 'we have captured this position and we 
must hold it. If we let them have this place they will serve 
us worse than we did them. It will be death for every man 
of you.' 

"We staj^ed there. All day long they kept firing upon 
us, but by nine o'clock that night the guns died down. Next 
morning the Confederates had departed and were on their 
way to Cold Harbor. This occasion was known as Han- 
cock's great charge at Spottsylvania." 

A war correspondent describes the terrible conflict 
over the salient angle in the enemy's works which 
Hancock had taken and was holding : — 

"A battle raged over those intrenchments, the intense 
fury and heroism and horror of which it is simply impossible 
to describe at all. Five distinct, savage, tremendous charges 
were made by the enemy to retake that position. The lines 
of both armies met in a continual death-grapple in and to the 
right of the angle of death taken in the morning. To have 



178 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OP 

looked down on that battle from a height would have been 
like gazing into the smoke and din of an earthquake. Col- 
umn after column of the enemy penetrated to the very face 
of the breastwork, to be hewn down and sent back like a 
broken wave. Column after column still came on, dealius: 
death and meeting it, and making way for other columns, 
and others still ; and all the day long, against this rush of a 
foe that seemed disdainful of life, the angle was held by 
our troops, lighting, falling, but un3delding, to the close. 
"When the night came, the angle of those works, where the 
battle had been the hottest, and from which the enem^' had 
been finally driven, had a spectacle, for whoever cared to 
look, that would never have enticed his gaze again. Men 
in hundreds, killed and wounded together, were piled in hid- 
eous heaps, some bodies that had lain for hours under the con- 
centric fire of the battle being perforated with wounds. The 
writhing of wounded beneath the dead moved these masses 
at times ; at times a lifted arm or a quivering limb told of an 
agony not 3^et quenched by the Lethe of death around." 

The cruel sharpness of war had never a more vivid 
illustration than in these battles of the Wilderness ; nor 
was the patriotic heroism of commanders and of men 
ever more grandly shown than in these contests where 
none of the pomp of battle accompanied the stiniggle, 
but only its horrors were to be found. 



WINFIEU) SCOTT HANCOCK. 179 



CHAPTER XV. 

fSld Harbor. — The Marcli from Spottsylvania toward Richmond. — 
A Race between Two Armies. — Hancock finds Lee before him at 
the North Anna. — He Carries the Bridge. — Hancock at Cold Har- 
bor. — He Carries the Enemy's Lines. — A Fight at Close Quarters. 
— Amenities of the Combat. 

The advance from Spottsylvania was not made until 
the 20th of May, and in the meantime Hancock was 
engaged in the desperate but not altogether successful 
attempts of Grant to force his way straight across the 
Confederate fortifications from the position he had cap- 
tured on the 12th. 

In the meantime, Sheridan, in whose command the 
dashing Custer was a subordinate, was making his won- 
derfully brilliant cavalry movements in the Shenandoah 
Valley and onward towards Richmond. This episode 
forms one of the most spirited chapters in the history 
of our war ; and the meeting of the two great cavalry 
leaders in the Shenandoah Valley, Sheridan with the 
Union troopers and Stuart with the Confederate riders, 
makes one of its most romantic pages. 

When at length Hancock was ordered forward, on 
the 20th of May, the movement was in fact a race 
between the two opposing armies for a new vantage- 
ground on the road to Richmond. This ground was on 
the North Anna River. 

The country through which Hancock led his corps on 



180 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

this hasty march was a wonderful and striking con- 
trast to that whose horrors they left behind them. It 
was fair and fertile, beautifully undulating, w^ith many 
large and fine plantations in the river-bottoms. The 
blight of war had not yet touched it ; but here were 
fields with sprouting wheat and growing corn and 
luxuriant clover, homesteads with great ancestral elms 
and bountiful farms. 

But when, on the 23d, Hancock came in sight of the 
North Anna, he saw on the opposite bank " the enemy 
in large force marching in column, evidently en route 
from Spottsylvania." Hancock had to force a passage 
of the river, and that, too, over a tele du pont which the 
Confederates had constructed and manned at the Ches- 
terfield Bridge. Hancock made the assault, with Pierce 
and Egan's brigades, about an hour before sundown, 
under a heavy fire, the troops sweeping across the open 
plain at double-quick, making a foothold in the parapet 
with their bayonets, clambering over it, driving out the 
enemy, and capturing the bridge. 

On the further advance, Hancock led another brilliant 
skirmish at the Tolopotomy ; and when Grant deter- 
mined to force the passage of the Chickahominy at 
Cold Harbor, Hancock was given the place on the left 
of the line as the order of battle was formed. 

The assault upon the enemy's works was ordered to 
be by a general advance all along the line at half-past 
four in the morning of June 3. It was short, sharp, 
and bloody work. Before five o'clock the battle was 
decided. It was impossible to dislodge the enemy. 
Hancock's corps advanced for half a mile through woods 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 181 

and over open intervals, under a severe fire, straight up 
to the enemy's works, and repeated the brilliant exploit 
of the " salient angle" at Spottsylvania. They climbed 
over the enemy's parapet, captured his guns, and 
carried off five or six hundred prisoners, with their 
colors. But it was useless. The works could not be 
carried as a whole, although Hancock's men fortified 
themselves in an advanced position. 

One of the most remarkable incidents of the war oc- 
curred here. It was the retention of a position, all day, 
within fifteen yards of the enemy's works. The heroic 
band which performed this exploit was the brigade of 
Colonel McKean, in Hancock's corps, numbering about 
eight hundred men. Through tlie livelong day those 
men held their line within fifteen yards of the enemy, 
and all his force could not dislodge them. 

The way it happened was that, through a fault of 
engineering, the rebel intrenchments were drawn on 
the rearward slope of the crest in front of Hancock, and 
thus thrown so far back that his men, when repulsed, 
were partially under cover as soon as they had passed 
the ridge, and their sharpshooters were able to keep 
the enemy's heads down long enough to allow hastily 
improvised parapets to be thrown up. 

Kepeatedly during the day the enemy formed double 
columns of attack, to come over the works and assail 
them ; and the officers could be heard encouraging their 
troops by telling them "there are only four or five 
hundred of them — come on ! " But the moment the 
rebels showed themselves above the parapet, a line of 
fire flashed out from behind the earthen mound where 



182 LrF3 AND PUBLIC SERYICES OF 

eight hundred heroes stood in a new Thermopylae, and 
many a Confederate threw up his arms and fell prone 
under their swift aveno^ins^ bullets. 

The sequel is as curious as the deed itself; for while 
the enemy dared not venture out to assail McKean's 
men, neither could he get back from his perilous posi- 
tion. In this dilemma, the insrenious device was hit 
upon of running a zigzag trench up from the Union lines 
to his. In this manner a working party was able to 
dig its way up to where they lay, begrimed with powder 
and worn out with fatigue, and at last they were brought 
safely away — all that were left of them. The gallant 
McKean was shot down while standing up to receive a 
rebel assault. 

So close were the lines of the contending armies 
after this battle, that often not more than fifty yards 
separated them. A man would call out from behind 
the Union breastworks the signal of attack — " Forward ! 
Guide centre!" — and the Confederates, hearing all 
that was said, would start up behind their parapet, 
while our men, just peering above their pits, would 
" draw a bead " on their tricked opponents and bring 
many a one down with a bloody gift. 

Or, on the other side, one would call a parley and 
cry out : 

"Yanks, ain't it about your time to cook coffee?" 

"Yes," the Yanks would reply. 

" Then," the response would come from the other 
side, " if you won't shoot while I make my johnny- 
cake, I won't shoot while you make your coifee." 



"WIKFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 183 

This culinary truce was always observed with the 
strictest fidelity. 

General Hancock, in his report of this battle, uses 
the significant language : " The troops advanced as far 
as the example of their oflicers could carry them." 
The position could not be carried, and officers and 
men realized it. An attempt was made to reduce the 
works by siege ; but this was given up in a few days, 
and Grant determined to transfer his army to the south 
of the James River. 



184 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 



CHAPTER XYI. 

Peterslmrg. — Hancock Celebrates Bunker-hill Day. — He Leads Suc- 
cessful Movemeuts about Petersburg. — His Old Wound Reopens. 
— On Sick Leave Again but Quickly Returns.— The Explosion of 
the Petersburg Mine and its Disastrous Results. 

On the 15tli of May, as Hancock was marching under 
orders to " take up a position where the City Point 
Eailroad crosses Hamson's Creek," — a position which 
did not exist, except upon an incorrect and worthless 
map from which the orders were drawn, — he received 
a despatch from General Grant directing him to use all 
haste in going to the assistance of General Smith, who 
had attacked Petersburg. This was the first intimation 
that Hancock had received that Petersburg was to be 
attacked that day, or that General Smith was operating 
against the place. Pie hastened forward, but was 
unable to join Smith until after the attack had been 
made. General Hancock writes in his report : " The 
messaeres from Lieutenant-General Grant and from 
General Smith, which I received between five and six 
p. M. , on the 15th, were the first and only intimation I had 
that Petersburg was to be attacked that day. Up to 
that hour I had not been notified from any source that 
I was expected to assist General Smith in assaulting 
that city." 

General Meade endorsed, in a repoi*t now on file in the 
Ai'my Depai-tmcnt : " Had General Hancock or myself 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 185 

known that Petersburg was to be attacked, Petersburg 
w^ould have fallen." But Grant was compelled to sit 
down before that city in formal siege for nearly a year 
before it yielded. 

General Hancock, to whom, in the absence of Grant 
and Meade, the command of the field fell, was re- 
strained from attacking, by orders from Meade, until 
the remaining corps of the Army of the Potomac 
should arrive ; and this happening on the 16th, he 
made the assault that day, driving the enemy some dis- 
tance along the whole line. The attack was renewed 
by Hancock and Burnside on the 17th, the former 
succeeding in taking some important ground. 

The movement of Hancock was designed to carry 
the four lines of works of the enemy outside the city, 
drive the Confederates into Petersburg, and, if possible, 
capture the town. On this, " Bunker-hill Day," writes 
one of the old Sixth Corps, which was then part of 
Hancock's command, " General Hancock formed his 
troops, in a piece of wood, between tw^o forts, in such 
a way, and at such a point, that the enemy had no idea 
of what he was doing. Just as night was falling he 
led us out on the charore. Instead of charo-inof either 
of the two forts, he led us on a dead run right between 
them. When on the other side he deployed his troops, 
and effected the capture of both. The enemy was so sur- 
prised that we met with little resistance. Then we 
made a gallant charge on the second line, and after a 
sharp fight secured it. Then the third line w^as 
stormed, and though the battle was now severe, we 
were successful. At the fourth line, however, we were 



186 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OP 

repulsed. Then the point was to maintain the position 
we had gained. It was now late at night, and the 
hostilities closed. The next morning, however, they 
opened upon us from all directions. As at Spottsyl- 
vania, Hancock told us that our position must be held 
or it was certain death for all of us. We did hold it ; 
but it was hard work." 

But this arduous labor for his country was performed 
at great cost. It will be remembered that Hancock 
was yet a wounded man, and under the surgeon's care 
when he took the field with Grant in the new Army of 
the Potomac. The hardships of the campaign had the 
effect of reopening the wound received at Gettysburg, 
and, on the evening of the 17th of June, his iron con- 
stitution broke down and he was compelled, with the 
greatest reluctance, to turn over the command of his 
corps, though he did not leave the field. 

During the greater part of the campaign, indeed, he 
had suffered the most intense pain, being compelled to 
occupy an ambulance during the march, and only 
mounting his horse when his troops came in contact 
with the enemy, and his personal presence was needed 
to direct and inspire them. 

The wound was in the upper part of the thigh. It 
had fractured and splintered the upper part of the 
femur, and at one time it was thought that his life could 
not be saved. A splendid constitution, however, and 
the best surgical skill, had brouc^ht him throuofh the 
worst, and his entire recovery would have followed had 
not his impatience to be with his command in the field 
prevailed over his judgment. The penalty for this he 



WINFIELD SCOTT HAIS^COCK. 187 

now had to pay by a brief retirement from the com- 
mand of his corps. 

On the 27th of June, however, he again took com- 
mand, and participated in the operations before Peters- 
burg until July 26, when he crossed to the north side 
of the James Kiver, with his corps and a division of 
cavalry, and assaulted the enemy's lines at Deep Bot- 
tom, capturing the outer works, two hundred prison- 
ers, several stands of colors, and four pieces of 
artillery. 

It was while Hancock was engaged in these opera- 
tions that General Burnside conceived and put in execu- 
tion the idea of capturing the defences of Petersburg 
by assault after the demoralization consequent upon the 
explosion of a mine, through the breach formed by 
which an assaulting column could push forward and 
sweep the enemy right and left. The hour for the 
explosion was fixed at half-past four on the morning of 
July 30 ; and, as if to give chances to fate, Burnside 
decided the choice of the assaulting division by casting 
lots, or, as Grant expressed it, by "pulling straws or 
tossing coppers." 

Hancock had just returned from his fortunate expe- 
dition to Deep Bottom, and was not concerned in the 
affair in any way. The match was applied to the 
mine at the hour appointed ; but, owing to a defect in 
the fuse, the mine failed to explode. A second attempt 
succeeded, at about fifteen minutes before five o'clock 
in the morning. The effect produced is described as 
showing a solid mass of earth, through which the 
exploding powder blazed like lightning playing in a 



188 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

bank of clouds, slowly rising some two hundred feet 
in the air, and hanging visibly a few seconds. Then 
it subsided, and a heavy cloud of black smoke floated 
oft*. 

The explosion of the mine was the signal for a simul- 
taneous outburst of artillery from the various batteries, 
au'l Leslie's division of Burnside's corps advanced to 
the charc^e. 

On reaching the site of the fort, it was found to have 
been converted by the explosion into a huge crater one 
hundred and fifty feet long, sixty feet wide, and from 
twenty-five to thirty feet deep. Here the assaulting 
column sousfht shelter, thou2:h there was nothins: to 
prevent its rushing forward and occupying the crest 
beyond, for the enemy was paralyzed by the explosion 
and remained inactive for some time. But the troops 
iuiddled together in tlie crater ; and, as Meade said in 
his report, a scene of disorder and confusion com- 
menced which continued to the end. The enemy 
rallied, brought their guns to bear, and poured shells 
and bombs into the hollow of the exploded earthworks 
where the Union troops were clustered. The crater 
became a slaughter-pen. Burnside sent out the colored 
division, and the brave black fellows pushed far ahead 
and captured prisoners and a stand of colors, but were 
beaten back into the fatal crater. Disaster followed. 

General Hancock was a member of the military court 
of inquiry instituted soon after this failure, and the 
court found its causes to be : first, the injudicious form- 
ation of the troops in going forward; second, the 
halting of the troops in the crater, instead of going 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 189 

forward to the crest, when there was no fire of any con- 
sequence from the enemy ; thh'd, no proper employ- 
ment of engineer officers and working parties, and of 
materials and tools for their use, in the Ninth Corps ; 
fourth, that some parts of the assaulting columns were 
not properly led ; fifth, the want of a competent com- 
mon head at the scene of the assault, to direct afiairs 
as occurrences should demand. 

But, while the causes of the mine fiasco before Peters- 
burg may be diflferently judged by experts, the ordinary 
non-professional mind will always incline to the belief 
that it failed because a soldier of Hancock's masfnetic 
presence, quick perception, and instant action was not 
the director and the leader of the assault. 



190 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 



CHAPTER XVII. 

About Petersburg. — Hancock Commands at Deep Bottom. — Pro- 
motion to be Brigadier-General in the Regular Army. — His Horse 
sliot under him at Reams' Station. — Battle of the Boydton Plank 
Road. — Recruiting a Veteran Corjis. — Brevet Majur-Goneral for 
Gallantry at Spottsylvania. — In Command of the Middle Military 
Division when Lee Surrenders and the Confederacy collapses. 

On the 12th of August, 18G4, Hancock was promoted 
another long step in the regular army, his commission 
as Briofadier-General beino^ issued to him on that date. 
The same day he was ordered to take command of the 
first of the several expeditions which Grant made 
against the enemy from his position before Petersburg. 
On this expedition General Hancock's force consisted 
of his own Second Corps, the Tenth Corps, and Gen- 
eral Gregg's division of Cavalry. The movement was 
made against the enemy at Deep Bottom, where the 
Confederates were met in largely superior force, ^ and 
General Hancock returned with several hundred pris- 
oners and several stands of colors. Hancock returned 
to his camp before Petersburg on the 21st, after a very 
fatiguing march, and was immediately ordered to un- 
dertake the work of tearing up the railroad track to 
Reams' Station. This occupied the time until the 25th, 
when the enemy approached in strong force to prevent 
further destruction of the line. 

Hancock met the assault with firmness and with per- 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 191 

sistent bravery, although against tremendous odds. In 
spite of the fact that the support for which he tele- 
graphed did not reach him, he held the ground valiantly 
through the day, being, as usual, on horseback among 
his troops, cheering and inspiring them, and again nar- 
rowly escaped death, having his horse shot under him. 
Both armies had enough of it during the day, and 
simultaneously withdrew after dark. 

After the loss of the Weldon Railroad Lee's depend- 
ence Avas largely upon the Boydton plank road, from 
which Hancock was instructed to drive the Confeder- 
ates. The expedition was only partially successful, 
the support not being what it should have been ; but 
the brilliancy of Hancock's repulse of the great assault 
of the enemy, and the skill with which he handled the 
force under his command, elicited expressions of admi- 
ration even from Grant himself. 

The battle of Boydton plank road was the last that 
General Hancock fought with his gallant Second Corps. 
He had been a sick man during all this campaign. 
When not on active fighting duty, he was in the hands 
of the surgeons ; and even when on the march and in 
the battle, his wound had to be dressed daily, and 
almost as frequently pieces of the splintered bone were 
removed by the surgeons. It was his indomitable 
spirit that kept him up. 

But, great as was the value of his services in the 
field, his country had yet greater need of him in another 
department of patriotic duty. 

There were then many veteran soldiers in the country, 
whose terms of service had expired, and the govern- 



192 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

ment considered the best means of callinor into the field 
this desirable element. Veteran soldiers, havins^ been 
once honorably discharged, hesitated to re-enter the 
service in regiments recruited since their own enlist- 
ments ; so it was thought advisable to raise a corps 
which should consist of veterans alone. The man to 
whom the President first looked was, in regard both to 
the length and severity of his service, the chief of all 
the veteran general officers of the army ; and that man 
was General Hancock. 

So Hancock was ordered, on the 26th of November, 

1864, to report at Washington and undertake the 
organization of this veteran corps. It was determined 
to make this corps fifty thousand strong ; and it was 
very justly believed that, with Hancock at the head of 
this organization, the old soldiers would at once flock 
to the standard, and the force be recruited in the short- 
est possible time. This idea proved a correct one. 

But this corps of veterans was destined never to be 
called into action. Events were marching fast, and 
Hancock's sword could not be spared from the field in 
the last terrible strus^He for the extinction of the Con- 
federate army. So he was again ordered to the front, 
in command of the Middle Military Division, Feb. 27, 

1865, and made his headquarters at Winchester, the 
division embracing the departments of West Virginia, 
Pennsylvania, and Washington, and the force under his 
command including the Army of the Shenandoah, 
amountino; to nearlv one hundred thousand men of all 
arms. 

With this force it was expected a decisive blow, 



WTNFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 193 

in one direction or the other, would be struck, and 
General Hancock was under orders to be ready to 
move at a few hours' notice, either on Lynchburg, to 
co-operate with the Army of the Potomac, or to take 
transports for the southern coast to co-operate with 
General Sherman, as the exigencies of the campaign 
should demand. But the end came sooner than was 
anticipated. Lee's defence of Petersburg collapsed, 
and the surrender of his decimated, ragged, and 
hungry, but bravely persistent troops, was made at 
Appomattox Court-House, April 9, 1865. 

About a month before this, on the 13th of March, Gen- 
eral Hancock had received further official recoo:nition 
of his services in the form of a brevet to Major-General- 
ship in the regular army, given " for gallant and meri- 
torious services at the battle of Spottsylvania." 

The sketch of General Hancock's military services 
during the active period of the Rebellion cannot be bet- 
ter closed than with the following picture of him, as a 
man and as a commander, by one who knew and 
served under him : — 

** General Hancock appears the Very beau ideal of the sol- 
dier. His figure is tall and finely shaped. His eye is clear, 
blue, inquiring, benignant in repose, but inspiring in danger 
and in earnestness. In manners, no man ever surpassed him. 
He is the embodiment of knightly courtesy, yet his dignity is 
of the simple republican type that reminds one of the ideal 
Cincinnatus. No 3'oung officer, with apprehensions, for the 
fii'st time, ever reported to him and went awaj'^ with any 
other feeling than that Hancock was the man he wanted to 
sevve under for life. 



194 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

*' To his subordinates he was alwaj's kindUness itself. He 
put one at his ease at once ; gave confidence ; made a man 
think better of himself ; made him think he amounted to a 
good deal more than he ever before suspected. This was one 
of the great secrets of Hancock's success on the field. The 
men and officers all felt that the}^ had come in personal con- 
tact with their commander ; that they had made him think 
they were brave, good, reliable men ; and when the crisis came, 
they would rather die than destro}^ that opinion. Hancock's 
reproof, on the other hand, was not a thing to be wished for 
twice. He was severe in his requirements, and sometimes 
made his colonels and generals wish that they were anywhere 
but under the plain severity of his talk. Yet after the lesson 
was taught, the wound was at once healed by some attention, 
so kindly and so gracious, that the object of it felt at last 
that he had really gained by the transaction. 

" Thus he was to his subordinates. What he was to his 
superiors is a matter of history. No more loyal executor of 
orders ever bestrode a horse. There are brilliant reputations 
whose dead and living owners owe them to that loyal per- 
formance of duty. He went forward cheerfully, without 
murmuring or questioning, in the accomplishment of what 
was assigned to him, from first to last, willing to do anything 
and be anj^thiug in the service of his country. Hancock's 
first Division Commander, that splendid veteran and stub- 
born fighter, who was himself generally in hot water with his 
ofllicial superiors, Major-Geueral ' Baldy ' Smith said of Han- 
cock : ' He was the most lo3'al subordinate I ever knew. He 
always tried to carry out his orders in their spirit as well as 
to the letter, and whatever he might think of them, when he 
received them they became his own and a part and parcel of 
himself.' 

••' Happy for the Republic had it more sons, more soldiers, 
and more statesmen like this ! " 



WT^riELD SCOTT HAXCOCK. 195 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Hancock aa a Commander. — The Love and Admiration of liis Sol- 
diers for their General. — " A Soldier's Duty is to Obey and Fight." — 
General Walker describes his Character and Habits. — Custer 
Sketches him at Williamsburg. — " Gentlemen, Charge with the 
Bayonet." — The Secret of Hancock's Genius. — The Invincible 
Second Corps. — An Incident of Gettysburg. 

General Hancock was a commander who secured 
not only the confidence, but the love and admiration of 
his troops. He was of splendid appearance, and of a 
most magnetic manner. He was, moreover, sym- 
pathetic as well as strict, kindly as well as stern, and, 
beyond all, he impressed all who came in contact with 
him with his thorous^h earnestness. There was not a 
soldier in his largest command who would not die 
happy under Hancock's approving eye ; there was not 
one who failed to feel the electric shock which ran 
through the whole line when Hancock rode into sight 
on the field of battle. 

One of those who served under him says : " He was 
universally beloved by his soldiers. There was not a 
man, from a private to the highest oflacer, that did not 
admire him. He was one of the strictest disciplinarians 
in the army. One instance I remember. In the fall 
of 1864, during the campaign of Lincoln and McClel- 
lan, the officers and soldiers indulged in pretty free dis- 
cussions of the conduct of the war on the part of the 
administration. Hancock issued a general order, which 



196 LIFE AND rUBLIC SERVICES OF 

was read to every regiment, commanding that all this 
should cease. ' Our first duty,' he said, in substance, 
*is to stop the Eebellion, not to talk. When the war is 
over you can criticise as much as you like. Until then, 
a soldier's duty is to obey and fight.' " 

It was this strict conscientiousness, this unswervinsf 
purpose to compel respect for what is right, which 
gave the foundation to the noble character of General 
Hancock. He was, first of all, true to himself, in the 
highest sense of that phrase. He could conceive of no 
deviation in the slightest degree from the straight path 
of honor for himself, and he could not tolerate it in 
others. He personified moral force as clearly and 
vividly as he did ph3^sical courage. 

Gen. Francis A. Walker, who has had charofe of the 
taking of the United States census of 1870 and 1880, 
was on General Hancock's stafi* at one time during the 
war, and, like every one else who came to know him, 
was filled with admiration of the soldier and respect 
for the man. General W^alker says of him : " General 
Hancock was an ideal commander. His presence in 
the camp or along the line was like an impulse which 
every soldier felt. It seemed to travel through the 
army like a great wave. It is needless to say that he 
was everywhere beloved and admired. It was impos- 
sible for it to be otherwise when one saw the force of 
his character and his enthusiasm and energy. As a 
military genius he was a tactician of great skill and 
adroitness, as \vell as an executor of energy and power. 
It is seldom that you find these qualities in one man, 
for it is generally considered as incompatible that a 



WIKFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 197 

sagacity which was almost cunning should be combined 
with dash and industry. General Hancock possessed 
both to a high degree." 

At the breaking out of the war, that wild, dashing, 
and wonderfully versatile young cavalry leader, Gen, 
George A. Custer, was a cadet at West Point. He 
was a fiery young fellow, full of animal spirits, and at 
once applied to be sent to the field ; this application, 
moreover, serving to relieve him from the unpleasant 
duty of appearing to answer before the stern profes- 
sors at the military academy for a madcap escapado 
in which he had then recently indulged. So he was 
sent down to General Smith's headquarters in the 
Army of the Potomac, to make himself useful and 
wait for a more definite assignment. There he fell 
in with General Hancock, and the two seemed to ap- 
preciate each other. Hancock was Custer's senior by 
twenty years at West Point ; but they had one element 
of character in common which certainly attracted the 
younger man to the veteran. This was an utter ab- 
sence of self-consciousness in time of danorer. In 
Custer's case, this approached recklessness ; in Han- 
cock, it was so combined with more substantial traits 
as to become simply one of the illustrations of his 
sublime strength of character. 

It is interesting to read some of Custer's sketches of 
his experiences with Hancock, they are at once so free 
and so fresh. One of these, left among his posthumous 
papers when he met his cruel fate on the llosebud, 
describes Hancock on the day when he had turned the 
fiank of the Confederates at AV^illiamsburg and awaited 



198 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

events with the whole rebel army in front of him and 
a small brigade of sixteen hundred of his own men 
by his side. Custer wrote : — 

" Hancock's orders prevented him from advancing beyond 
the position he then held. The strength of his forces, how- 
ever, would not have justified him in proceeding against Fort 
Magruder unless closely supported by at least twice his own 
numbers. His position was such, however, that with a 
reasonable force at his command, Fort Magruder, and conse- 
quently the enemy's entire line, was untenable the moment he 
chose to advance. Fully impressed with the importance of 
the point he held, Hancock, as early as eleven o'clock, sent a 
staflF officer back to represent the situation of affairs and to 
request reinforcements. The request was delivered to Gen- 
eral Smith, the division commander, who, heartily approving 
of Hancock's views, urged General Sumner, then senior offi- 
cer on the field, to grant the request. General Sumner, 
anxious regarding Hooker's position on the left, declined, 
and instead directed Hancock to hold his ground, but not to 
advance. 

"Again Hancock sent a staflT officer, urging in stronger 
terms the importance of promptly reinforcing him in order 
that he might at once decide the battle by driving the enemy 
from their works. From his position to Sumner's headquar- 
ters, by the circuitous route necessar}^ to be taken, was 
several miles. Hancock awaited the reply to his second 
appeal with unfeigned anxiety. It came, and instead of 
acceding to his request, it directed him to relinquish the 
vantage-ground already gained, and which furnished the key 
to the enemy's position, and to retire to the redoubt covering 
the crossing over the dam. It was two o'clock when the last 
messenger arrived. 

" Those who have seen Hancock when afl^aii's with which 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 199 

he was connected were not conducted in conformit}^ with h.is 
views, can imagine the manner in which he received the order 
to retire. Never at a loss for expletives, and with feelings 
wrought up by the attendant circumstances, Hancock was 
not at all loath to express his condemnation of the polic}', 
which, from bis standpoint, was not onl}' plainly unnecessary, 
but, in the end, must prove disastrous. His was a difficult 
position to occupy, so far as he personally was concerned. 
After receiving the order to withdraw, rendered more impera- 
tive from the fact of its being a reply to his request for 
authority" and troops to enable him to advance, his first duty 
as a soldier was to obc}''. His judgment rebelled against such 
a course, and urged liim to remain and make one more effort 
to secure the adoption of his views. The responsibilitj^ was 
great ; but he assumed it, trusting to events to justify his 
course. Another staff officer was sent back, bearing a most 
urgent appeal from Hancock for assistance, and more fully 
explaining the importance of his position. Taking out his 
watch, Hancock, in conversation with the wi'iter, remarked, 
*Ifc is now two o'clock. I shall wait till four; if no reply 
reaches me from headquarters, 1 will then withdraw.' 

' ' The moments flew by till an hour had elapsed since the 
departure of the last messenger, and still no reply from head- 
quarters. Hancock's impatience, of which he has ever seemed 
to have an inexhaustible supply, increased with each passing 
moment. But little was going on in his front save the usual 
fiharpshooting between skirmisliers at long range ; yet each 
discharge of a musket seemed to add to the anxiety of him 
wl.iose impcrtarbabiiit}' has never rendered him remarkable. 

' ^ A fourth staff officer was despatched at a gallop to 
hasten, if possible, the expected and long-hoped-for message 
from ' Old Bull,' a3 General Sumner was familiarly termed by 
the entire army. Messenger after messenger was ordered 
upon this errand, imtil the hour-hand marked the hour of 



200 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

four, and still no orders came. It was hard for the 3'oung 
brigade commander to relinquish the victoiy which he justly 
believed was within his gi'asp. He had said he would with- 
draw at four o'clock, but when the horn- arrived it found him 
still anxious and eager to carry out his first plan of battle, 
and, with a faltering hope, he said, ' I will wait a half hour 
longer ; if no orders reach me during that time, I must 
retire.' 

"He was then without a staff officer, — aids, adjutant- 
general, and all having been hurried back for orders and 
reinforcements." 

There is a pecular charm in getting such a glimpse 
of the "superb Hancock " as this sketch afibrds, drawn 
by a young trooper who regarded less the dignity than 
the fun of every situation, and who pictures Hancock 
not as a demi-god, but as very much a man. 

We all know what was the outcome of Hancock's 
anxious waiting behind the Confederate works at Wil- 
liamsburiT. Reinforcements did not come, and he had 
to meet alone the charge of Longstreet's and Early's 
troops. But Custer describes it in such an entertaining 
way, throwing such strong side-lights on Hancock's 
feelings and actions at this time, that we reproduce his 
story : — 

*'The enemy were advancing rapidly and confidently. 
Hancock, deprived of the assistance of every member of his 
own staff, none having returned from the division commander, 
busied himself by riding along the line encouraging his men 
and urgiug them to do their duty in the fast approaching 
struggle. ' Aim low, men — aim low,' was his oft-repeated 



WmriELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 201 

injunction ; and, ' Do not be in a hurry to lire until they come 
nearer.' 

" Although the enemy had advanced nearly a thousand 
yards across an open and nearly level plain, within easy 
range of the guns of Hancock's men, the latter permitted 
them to approach undisturbed. 

'^ Hancock, realizing to the fullest extent his precarious 
situation, strove in every possible manner to inspire his troops 
with confidence. To him the coming contest was destined 
to become more than an ordinary victory or defeat : if the 
former, all would be well, and no unhappy criticisms would 
follow him ; if defeat—and defeat under the circumstances im- 
plied the loss or capture of most if not all of his command — 
then death upon the battle-field was far preferable, to the sensi- 
tive and high-minded soldier, to the treatment which would be 
meted out to him who, in violation of positive orders had 
repeatedly declined to withdraw his command, but had re- 
mained until obedience was no longer practicable, and Iiis 
command was threatened with annihilation. It was prob- 
ably with thoughts of defeat, and its personal consequences 
of a court-martial for disobedience of orders, that at the 
moment when the fighting on both sides became terribly in 
earnest, and the firing loudest, Hancock, galloping along his 
lines, hat in hand, the perfect model of a field-marshal that 
he has since proven himself to be, in tones which even the 
din of battle could not drown, appealed to his troops, saj^iug, 
' Men, 3'ou must hold this ground, or I am ruined.' It was 
but the utterance of the thought that was passing through 
his mind at that moment, and it neither checked nor added 
to the ardor with which Hancock deports himself in battle. 
His brilliant, dashing courage, displayed upon scores of bat- 
tle-fields since the one here referred to, has shown that he 
requires no personal motive to inspire him to deeds of heroism. 
The Confederates, with a com'age which has never been sur- 



202 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

passed by the troops upon either side, boldly advanced, de- 
livering their lire as rapidly as possible, and never ceasing to 
utter their inspiring battle-cry. 

" About forty yards in front of Hancock's line, and parallel 
to it, was an ordinary rail fence. The advanced line of the 
Confederates reached this fence ; and had they been less 
brave, or had they been the veterans of either armj'', who 
four' years later had been thoroughly schooled into the idea 
that breastworks and courage were almost inseparable ad- 
juncts in the art of war, it is probable that their advance 
would never have crossed the fence, but, protected b}' the 
questionable cover of the rails, would have made a stand, 
and from there returned the terribly destructive fire their 
enemies were pouring into their ranks. The fence seemed 
to offer no obstacle, however, to the assaulting column, which 
still advanced, as it had started, in four heavy lines. 

" But thirty paces now separated the contending forces, 
and neither exhibited si«rus of waverinor. The Confederates 
were losing ten to one of the Federals ; the latter, unlike the 
former, deUvering their tire from a halt, and with deliberate 
aim. 

" When within twenty paces of the Federal troops, the 
fire of whose guns remained unabated, the Confederates, 
whose ranks had been terribly thinned, and who, from their 
long and rapid march across a heav}^ and yielding soil, added 
to their constant 3'eliing since the opening of the attack, were 
much exhausted, now exhibited signs of faltering. The 
Federals, who but a moment before regarded victor}' as most 
doiibtfal, observed this hesitation, and gave forth cheers of 
exultation. Hancock, who had been constantly seen where 
the danger was most imminent, and who, with one exception, 
was the only mounted officer along the Federal line, saw that 
victory was within his grasp, and determined to resume the 
offensive. With that excessive p<»liteness of manner which 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 203 

characterizes him when everything is being conducted accord- 
ing to his liking, Hancock, as if conducting guests to a ban- 
quet rather than fellow-beings to a life-and-death struggle, 
cried out in tones well-befitting a Stentor : — 

' Gentlemen^ charge with the bayonet.' 

' ' The order was responded to with a hearty cheer from the 
entire line, and immediatel}" the men — no, the gentlemen — 
brought their bayonets down to the position of the charge, 
and moved forward to the encounter. The Confederates, 
already wavering, required but this last effort upon the part 
of their opponents to relinquish the contest. Not waiting to 
receive the charge, they began their retreat, which soon ter- 
minated in a rout. The Federals, less exhausted than their 
late assailants, were able to overtake and capture large num- 
bers of the Confederates. They also captured one battle-flag, 
being, it is believed, the first battle-flag captured from the 
enemy by the Army of the Potomac. One of the French 
princes ser\'ing on General McClellan's staff", the Due 
d'Orleans, arriving on the battle-field at this moment, was 
made the bearer of the captured colors to army headquar- 
ters." 

General AValker is alto<T^ether a different sort of man 
from Custer. He is scholarly, quiet, and exact — a 
complete contrast to the untamed genius whose red- 
silk neckerchief used to flame so inspiringly at the 
bead of bis troopers. But GcneraHValker, even while 
jz:ivin2: a statistician's estimate of his old commander, 
shows that enthusiastic admiration burns in his breast 
as well. In continuation of what we have before 
quoted, General Walker says ; — 

'•'• General Hancock had all the instincts of a stafl*oflicer in 



204 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

regard to keeping up the discipline and the condition of his 
command. He might have been the inspector-general, for 
the care he exercised. Then he had a perfect passion for 
what is known in the araiy as ' Papers.' I remember this 
from a very lively experience. Oftentimes, when I had 
worked twelve or fourteen hours during the da}', and was 
nearly ready to drop, he would send for me, and for two 
hours longer he would keep me in his tent, going over a great 
mass of correspondence and orders. He had a love for all 
the details of the camp and of the march, and a capacity to 
receive and understand them. He was immensely particular, 
and a man who, generall}' speaking, paid apparently an un- 
necessary attention to nice pomts. Orders and letters must 
be written with the greatest punctilio and care, whether under 
a tree, in the rain, or in headquarters. He would do work 
that any other general would leave to his adjutant, giving a 
great deal of his time and personal attention to questions re- 
lating to regulations, to breaches of discipline, and to the 
various reports, even though of a routine nature. When in 
battle he never issued commands from the rear, but was on 
the field in person. Even after he had given an order he 
would himself see that it was carried out. This was not 
always the pleasantest position for a subordinate officer ; but 
looking back now, I can see that Hancock's almost invariable 
success was due to this incessant wakefulness and vigilance. 
He knew what he wanted, and he knew that a single word 
misunderstood might cause disaster to his troops or make 
him lose a victory. He was not willing to run any risks." 

General Hancock was worshipped by the men of the 
Second Corps. He had come to the command of that 
corps with a record as one of the most brilliant and 
successful fighters in the army. The most inspiriting 
legends of the war embalmed his name. His presence 



WIJ7FIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 205 

brought confidence even in the most desperate circum- 
stances, and under his command the troops realized 
that they were guided by a Avise and masterful hand. 

The wearers of the trefoil badge not only believed, 
they knew, that nothing could stand before them and 
Hancock, and a story which one of them tells about 
Gettysburg shows that they fully believed the enemy 
had the same appreciation of the invincibility of Han- 
cock's corps. This is the story: "When Pickett's 
division made its charge, the Confederates only ex- 
pected to meet raw troops. They had been told that 
the Army of the Potomac was not there, but the Union 
soldiers were merely Pennsylvania militia and recruits. 
Two Confederate generals led the charge, one named 
Barksdale, from Mississippi ; and the other, whose 
name I forget, from Louisiana. Over the two lines of 
the front corps the enemy charged upon us and came 
up the ridge. The Louisiana general, the moment he 
saw our lines, recognized the ace of clubs on our caps, 
and shouted : * My God, boys, we are lost ! Here is the 
Army of the Potomac ! ' The next instant he fell from 
his horse, shot through the heart. The other general 
was also shot not many feet away. He lived a few 
minutes, and, as he lay on the ground, Hancock went 
over to him, and, bendinc: down, received the dvin<^ 
man's last message to his wife, as well as a gold watch, 
which, in his last moments, he asked Hancock to for- 
ward with the message. It was a scene which I will 
never forget." 



WINPIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 



I=.A.I5. T IV 



THE STATESMAN", 



CHAPTER I. 

Hancock's ChaT-actcr. — How ifc D-veloped under the Influence of 
his Career. — His Inheritance of Patriotism. — A Man of the People. 
— His Strong Purpose in Life. — The Discipline of Army Service. — 
Learning to Obey and then to Command. — His Administrative 
Ability. — Knowledge of Men and Things. — A Well-rounded 
Character. 

There now approached a period of General Han- 
cock's life in which he w^as to display another phase of 
that grand character which has given him rank among 
the foremost public men of the age, and which has 
secured him recognition by the great constitutional 
party of the country as the fittest of its sons to take in 
his hands the guidance of the Republic. It was a fur- 
ther development of the great gifts of mind and of 
heart with which the Creator had endowed him ; not a 
sudden or accidental phenomenon whose permanence 
could not be trusted, or a spasmodic or emotional im- 
pulse, aroused by the occasion, to vanish when the 
exciting: cause should be removed. 

And here it may be well to pause and review the 
growth and development of General Hancock's charac- 
ter, as shown in his public life, up to the time when his 
country, grateful for his valiant services in the hour of 
peril to the Republic on the bloody field of battle, 
sought the benefit of his wisdom and his moral courage 
to aid in preservinix the peace which he had conquered. 



210 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

We have seen how, in the life of Hancock, the boy 
gave promise of the man. He was a patriot by descent 
and by tradition. The blood of Revolutionary ances- 
tors flowed in his veins. He was born on historic 
ground, with the memories of the great struggle for 
independence and the rights of man clustering thick 
about the valleys and hills and rivers of his native 
country. And of these memories his ancestors had 
formed part. The story of the hard light of the poor 
colonists for freedom and for local self-government was 
his story ; the legacy left him by those of his name 
and his blood who had battled and suffered by the side 
of Washinirton. 

Further than this, he was a son of the soil. Neither 
riches nor a great name had come to him by descent. 
The honors which his ancestors bore were those of a 
patriot yeomanry, ennobled by intelligent labor and by 
an honorable performance of the duties of free citizens. 
He inherited an upright name, never tarnished by so 
much as a shade of falsehood or unworthiness ; a sound 
intellect, and a physical constitution well fitted to match 
it. The scion of the race of sturdy Pennsylvania 
farmers was, as a boy, one of the best products of the 
land. 

His early home influences fostered a proper and 
symmetrical development of his character. He had a 
good father and mother. They were poor, but not 
penurious. For the education of their children, no 
effort and no sacrifice were too great. They struggled, 
with brave hearts and earnest souls, and conquered a 
place for themselves and for their boys in the world. 



WINFIELD SCOTT IL\:NC0CK. 211 

Hancock was brought up amidst this earnest, whole- 
some, working life, in which labor was made cheerful, 
and a strong purpose moved every member of the little 
family to accomplish something for the common good. 
He learned to be helpful to others, to bear bravely what 
burdens came to his lot, to be true to himself whatever 
might happen, and to trust in God. 

The parents of Hancock seem to have bred in him an 
honorable ambition which directed his career very dis- 
tinctly ; and when he left home for the West Point 
Academy he took with him a lofty purpose which found 
expression in earnest devotion to preparation for his 
chosen jorofession. 

And then how eagerly he embraced the first oppor- 
tunity of putting to the test the power which, even as 
a young lieutenant, he felt within him. His impulse 
to action was irresistible. He saw a career before him, 
and the spirit within him urged him forward to enter 
upon it and fulfil his destiny. 

Hancock's character was such that whatever he put 
his hand to he must do it well, no matter what it cost 
him in labor or pain. As a youthful soldier in the 
Mexican war, he was eagerly first in the place of dan- 
ger. He was not only daring, but brave ; and the trait 
of persistence in what he knew to be his duty was 
strongly developed by this experience. 

Then, after a long interval, in which the youth grew 
to manhood and acquired a knowledge of men and of 
the ways of the world, came the test of the Eebellion. 

This found him on the western verge of the Union, 
amid a disloyal community, with scores of the brightest 



212 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

and bravest of his old comrades going over boldly to 
the support of secession. Did he hesitate ? Not for an 
instant. It was not even a choice that he made. It 
was a prompt utterance of his inbred belief, that this 
government of the people must be preserved, and that 
his talent, his strenirth, and his life belonsfed to the 
people to save his and their priceless inheritance. 

Hancock was essentially and thoroughly a Democrat. 
It was his creed by inheritance, by education, and by 
the force of his instructed conscience. An "indestructi- 
ble union of indestructible States " was what he believed 
in. It was that for Avhich his ancestors fought, that 
which he had sworn to preserve, and that which formed 
the basis of the great Republic. It was as a Democrat 
that he hastened to tlie preservation of this Union, 
gave his best energies, and shed his blood in its preser- 
vation. 

In the war of the Union, Hancock developed those 
rare administrative powers which made him the model 
commander as well as tlie brave soldier. It was not 
alone his dashing personal valor Avhich brought him so 
rapidly to high command. Others possessed this 
quality and yet never rose. It was his solid character, 
his true wisdom, which gave into his hands such vast 
responsibilities. 

In this hard school of war he showed that he pos- 
sessed a judgment of men and of means that was quick 
and accurate ; that he had fertility of resource and 
readiness in execution ; that he could rule men with 
justice as he could lead them with brilliant valor. 

And when it was necessary to stir the people to a 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 213 

greater earnestness in filling up the depleted ranks of 
our volunteer army, it was Hancock who was chosen to 
visit Legislatures, to meet in consultation with mer- 
chants and business men, to organize public meetings, 
and to present to the loyal but Aveary North, in an 
effective manner, the necessities for further effort. It 
was a mission as far removed as possible from the work 
of leading troops to the assault of a salient, and proba- 
bly no general commander in the Union army could 
have succeeded as did Hancock. But here, as in every 
field to which he had been called in the performance of 
his duty, Hancock showed an ability which conquered 
success. 

He, so essentially a man of the people, showed him- 
self in every station a ruler of the people by his native 
force, his wise judgment, his close knowledge of men 
and of thins^s. 

Up to the point to which we have now followed his 
course, we have seen his character develop in strength 
and power, not merely as a brilliant soldier, or as a 
self-sacrificing patriot, but as a strong man and a wise 
administrator. He was soon to be called to duties 
which should test his statesmanship in the sharpest 
way, and prove whether his belief in the principles on 
which our Republic is founded was intelligent and sub- 
stantial, or misty and unstable. How nobly he proved 
himself, the records of the Republic tell. 



214 LIFE AXD PUBLIC SERVICES OF 



CHAPTER n. 

Assassination of President Lincoln. — Arrest and Trial of the Con- 
spirators. — Execution of Mrs. Surratt. — Charges of Cruelty 
against General Hancock. — Mrs. Surratt's Counsel makes a State- 
ment. — Also her Spiritual Adviser. — General Hancock's Tender- 
ness toward the Unfortunate Woman and ber Daughter. — He 
posts Couriers to Carry a Pardon. — His Grief and Anxiety. 

BefoPvE General Hancock was called upon to assume 
those administrative duties whose performance has 
given him world-wide fame as a civil executive, he had 
to pass through an ordeal which tested his powers and 
proved his strength of character under the most trying 
circumstances, and in a period of the greatest excite- 
ment. 

His headquarters were still in the valley of the 
Shenandoah, when, on April 14, 1865, the conspiracy 
against the administration culminated in the assassina- 
tion of President Lincoln, and the grievous wounding 
of Secretary Seward. The whole people were never 
before so shaken and unnerved, even when confronted 
with the severest disasters in the field, as on that dread- 
ful Friday in April, 18G5. It seemed to most patriotic 
people as though the sun of liberty had gone into per- 
petual eclipse. A feeling of such universal fear and 
distrust pervaded the nation, that men looked in each 
other's faces with the despair which comes over the 



WINFIELD SCOTT HAKCOCK. 215 

soul when nature experiences some awful cataclysm, 
and when there is no longer any hope for mankind. 

General Hancock w^as summoned at once to Wash- 
ington. The extent of the conspiracy soon became 
known, and the measures taken by him to confront the 
secret peril were thorough, and contributed greatly to 
allay the terror. When Plancock's presence in Wash- 
ington was known over the country, as it soon was 
announced by telegraph, men said to each other, 
"Thank God, a man is in Washington now who can be 
trusted in any emergency." 

General Hancock remained in Washington, by order 
of President Johnson, during the days of the trial of 
the conspirators, and until after their execution. He 
was military conmiander of the District, having under 
him about one hundred thousand men, with the Presi- 
dent and the Secretary of War only as his superiors. But 
with the trial of the prisoners, or with their watching and 
care, he had nothing to do. General Hartranft w\as the 
commander of the Arsenal in which they were confined, 
and he, as Provost-Marshal of the District, attended to 
the details of their imprisonment, and, after the sen- 
tence, carried out the execution of the death-penalty. 
General Hancock simply transmitted the order for the 
execution as it came to him from his superior officer, 
the President of the United States. 

There is little doubt entertained by unprejudiced 
men, now that the fever of excitement has passed away, 
that the axecution of Mrs. Surratt was a nmrder under 
the forms of military law. But it is unjust to charge 
the blame for this horrible error upon Secretary Stan- 



216 LIFE AXD PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

ton and his "Department of Justice," cruel and vin- 
dictive as the Secretary of War and his agents showed 
themselves on many occasions. For back of them 
there was a terrible popular cry for blood. The cir- 
cumstances were peculiar. For the first time in the 
history of the American Republic, assassination had 
been resorted to as a remedy for what were considered 
political WTongs ; and even the sober judgment of the 
people was shaken by this terrible development. Had 
Stanton been a different man, he might have restrained, 
or at least stood firm against, this loud clamor for 
victims, altheugh it came with the Eiost merciless 
reiteration from the party on whom he depended. 
It was, indeed, more the work of Stanton's party than 
of the revengeful Secretary himself. 

General Hancock's share in this tragedy was, as we 
have stated, only that of a spectator charged with 
maintaining the peace and order during the operations 
of the judicial and executive departments. And at this 
late day, it is only ignorance of history which can 
excuse such animadversions upon his course as have 
been made in some quarters. As a soldier, he had a 
peculiar abhorrence of the idea of executing the penalty 
of death upon a woman ; and while, of course, the 
whole business was entirely outside of his sphere, he 
yet did what he could, as military commander, to 
facilitate the communication of Mrs. Surratt with her 
counsel and friends, and interested himself by advice to 
her daughter, and by providing for the quick transmis- 
sion of a pardon or a reprieve, which, up to the last 
moment, he hoped might be granted. 



"VVIXriELD SCOTT H.\NCOCK. 217 

The counsel of Mrs. Surratt, her spiritual advisers, 
and the protector of her unfortuate daughter, join in 
warm praise of General Hancock's sympathetic words 
and acts on this occasion ; but the whole story is so 
clearly and effectively set forth in recent correspond- 
ence, that we prefer to let the actors in that terrible 
drama speak for themselves. 

On the 17th of July, 1880, Hon. T. W. Hartley of 
Washington addressed a letter of inquiry to Hon. John 
W. Clampitt, of Illinois, the only surviving one of the 
counsel who defended Mrs. Surratt, asking his state- 
ment of the relations of General Hancock to the sad 
affair. Judge Clampitt promptly responded, under 
date of July 22. This correspondence is herewith 
given : — 

Washington, D. C, July 17, 1880. 
John W. Clampitt, Esq., Highland Park, Lake County, 111. : 

Dear Sir, — As j'ou were the counsel for Mrs. Mary E. Sur- 
ratt, on her trial before the Military Commission at Washington 
in 1865, and also were, as I am informed, present and cog- 
nizant of all that took place on the trial, and connected with 
the proceedings up to the time of the execution, permit me to 
inquire and ask of you a candid statement of the facts, as to 
the relative position and conduct of Gen. W. S. Hancock 
from the time of the commencement of the trial until the 
execution ; also, as to alleged acts of unkindness of the 
General towards Mrs. Surratt, her daughter Anna, and her 
sphitual adviser, on the morning or day of the execution ; 
and vv^hether the responsibility for the organization of the 
Commission, and for the trial and execution rested entirely 
on and was assumed by the President and Secretary of War 
and the Judge- Advocate- General ; and whether, in the events 



218 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

which took place connected therewith, General Hancock had 
an}^ discretion or responsibility whatsoever. 

Your prompt repl}' hereto will be an additional act of yours 
in the cause of justice and truth. 

Very respectfully, etc., 

T. W. Bartlet. 

Highland Park, Lake County, III., July 22, 1880. 
Hon T. "W. Bartley, Washington, D. C. : 

My Dear Sir, — Your letter of the 20th inst. is at hand, 
requesting from me, as I was counsel of that most unfortunate 
lad}^, Mrs. Mary E. Surratt, a candid statement of the facts 
connected with her trial before the Military Commission at 
Washington in 18G5, and relating to the position and con- 
duct of Gen. W. S. Hancock from the time of the commence- 
ment of the trial until the execution ; also, to the alleged 
unkindness of General Hancock to Anna, the daughter of 
Mrs. Surratt, on the morning of the execution, and to her 
spiritual advisor ; and, further, whether the responsibility for 
the organization of the Commission, and for the trial and 
execution, rested entirely on and were assumed by the 
President and his legal advisers ; and whether, as to those 
matters which took place. General Hancock had any discre- 
tion or responsibility whatsoever. I desire to state in reply, 
that it affords me great pleasure to accede to your request. 
I was counsel for the late Mrs. Surratt, and took a deep 
interest in her case, and the important facts connected with 
the trial, — and its principal actors, because known to me, — 
some of which bear directly upon the inquiries contained in 
your letter. As the only surviving counsel of that deeply- 
wronged lady, and one who was present at each day of the 
prolonged trial, and conversant with all its details, my testi- 
mon}' may be of interest in the establishment of truth and the 
furtherance of justice. 



WIXriELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 219 

Tlie order originating the Militar}" Commission which tried 
and condemned Mrs. Surratt, was from the President of the 
United States, and as follows, to wit : — 

"Executive Chamber, Washington City, May 1, 1865. 
" Whereas, The Attorney-General of the United States hath 
given his opinion that the persons implicated in the murder of 
the late President Abraham Lincoln, and the attempted assassina- 
tion of the lion. WilHam II. Seward, Secretary of State, and in an 
alleged conspiracy to assassinate other officers of the Federal Gov- 
ernment at Washington City, and their aiders and abettors, are sub- 
ject to the jurisdiction of, and lawfully triable before a Military 
Commission; it is ordered: First, that the Assistant Adjutant- 
General detail nine competent military officers to serve as a Com- 
mission for the trial of said parties, and that the Judge-Advocate- 
General proceed to prefer charges against said parties for their 
alleged offences, and bring them to trial before said Militar}' Com- 
mission. That said trial, or trials, be conducted by the said Judge- 
Advocate-General, and as recorder thereof, in person, aided by such 
assistant and special judge-advocates as he may designate ; and that 
said trials be conducted with all diligence consistent with the ends 
of justice, the said Commission to sit without regard to hours. 
Second, that Brevet Major-General Ilartranft be assigned to duty 
as special Provost Marshal-General, for the purpose of said trial, 
and attendance upon said Commission, and the execution of its 
mandates. Third, that the said Commission establish such order 
or rules of proceeding as may avoid unnecessary delay, and con- 
duce to the ends of public justice. 

(Signed) ♦' Andrew Johnson." 

B}'' special orders No. 211, from the War Department, 
through the office of the Adjutant-General, a Military Com- 
mission was appointed to meet at Washington, on Mouda\^, 
the eighth day of May, for the trial of David E. Harold, 
George A. Atzerodt, Lewis Paj^ne, Michael O'Laughlan, 
Edward Spangler, Samuel Arnold, Mary E. Surratt, Samuel 
A. Mudd, and such other prisoners as might be brought 



220 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

before it, charged with the murder of the late President 
Abraham Lincoln, and the attempted assassination of the 
Secretar}^ of State, William H. Seward, etc. 

The detail for the Military Commission by the President 
"wras as follows : — 

Major-General David Hunter, U. S. Volunteers. 
*' " Lewis Wallace, U. S. Volunteers. 

Brevet Major-General A. V. Kautz, U. S. Volunteers. 

Brigadier-General Albion P. Howe, U. S. Volunteers. 
" " Robert S. Foster, U. S. Volunteers. 

Brevet BriGfadier-General Jas. A. Ekin, U. S. Volunteers. 
" " " T. M. Harris, U. S. Volunteers. 

Brevet Colonel C. H. Tompkins, U. S. Army. 

Lieutenant-Colonel David R. Clendenin, 8th 111. Cavalrj''. 

Brigadier-General Joseph Holt, Judge- Advocate. 

John A. Bingham and Brevet Colonel H. L. Burnett 
appeared as Assistant Judge-Advocates. 

The trial of the parties arraigned proceeded from day to 
day until its close, on the 30th of June, 1865, without fur- 
ther general or special orders affecting the personnel of the 
Commission, when the findings of the Commission were 
transmitted to the President of the United States, through 
the Secretary of War, for his approval. 

On the fifth day of July, 1865, the President approved the 
findings of the Commission and ordered the execution of 
Mrs. Surratt, Payne, Harold, and Atzerodt, in the following 
military order, transmitted through the Adjutant-General of 
the army, to wit : — 

" "War Department, Adjutant-General's Office, } 
" "Washington, July 5, 1865. ^ 

"To Major-General W. S. Hancock, United States Volunteers, Cora- 
mandlug the Middle Military Division, Washington, D. C. : 

" Whereas, By the INlilitary Commission appointed in paragraph 
4 special orders No. 2il, dated War Department, Adjutant-Gen- 



WINFIELD SCOTT HAKCOCK. 221 

eral's Office, Washington, May 6, 18G5, and of which Majoi-Gen- 
eral David Hunter, United States Volunteers, was President, the 
following persons were tried, and after mature consideration of 
evidence adduced in their cases, were found and sentenced as 
hereinafter stated, as follows : — (Here follow the findings and 
sentences in the cases of David E. Harold, G. A. Atzerodt, Lewis 
Payne, and Mary E Surratt ) 

" And whereas, the President of the United States has approved 
the foregoing sentences in the following order, to wit: — 

" Executive Mansion, July 5, 1865. 
♦' The foregoing sentences in the cases of David E. Ilarold, G. A. Atzerodt, 
Lewis Payne, and Mary E. Surratt are hereby approved, and it is ordered 
that the sentences in the cases of David E. Harold, G. A. Atzerodt, Lewis 
Payne and Mary E. Surratt be carried into execution by the proper military 
autliority, under the direction of the Secretary of War, on tlic seventh day 
of July, 1865, between the hours of 10 o'clock a. m. and 2 o'clock p. m. of 
that day. 

(Signed) 

" Andrew Johnson, President." 
" Therefore, you are hereby commanded to cause the foregoing 
sentences in the cases of David E. Harold, G A. Atzerodt, Lewis 
Payne, and Mary E. Surratt to be duly executed, in accordance 
with the President's order. 

" By command of the President of the United States, 

" E. D. TowNSEND, Ass't Adjutant-General." 

From the official proceedings it will be observed that Gen- 
eral Hancock had nothing whatever to do with the organiza- 
tion of this Military Commission, nor was he in the slightest 
degree responsible for its organization, or the execution of 
its mandates ; nor did he possess any discretion in the matters 
relating thereto in any degree whatsoever. 

It is true that the order of the President du-ecting the exe- 
cution of the condemned parties was transmitted through the 
commandant of the militar}^ post to Major-General Hartranft, 
who had been designated by the President in Executive 
Order, dated May 1, 1865 (and above quoted), as a special 
Provost-Marshal for the puipose of said trial and attendance 



222 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

upon said Commission and the execution of its mandates. It 
could not have been otherwise in feature and form, from the 
very nature of the militar}^ organization of the government and 
its regulations and rules of procedure. General Hancock 
was in command of a geographical Military Division, com- 
prising several States, of which Washington City, where his 
headquarters had been located by the President's order, was 
a part at the time Mrs. Surratt was sentenced to death. 
Being chief in command of that Militar}'' Division, the order 
of the President, through the War Department, had inev- 
itably to pass through him for transmission to the officer 
speciall}^ designated by the same authority (Ex. Order, May 
1, 1865) to execute the mandates of the Commission that 
condemned Mrs. Surratt to death. 

It is a notable fact that Brevet Major-General Hartranft, 
and not Major-General Hancock, gave the verbal order of 
execution, after first reading, while standing on the platform 
beside the prisoners, the findings of the Militar}' Commission 
and the President's order of approval. 

I was an e3'e-witness to the execution, and assert these 
facts as be3'ond contradiction. In this General Hartranft 
performed his dut}' as the subordinate officer of the President 
from whom he had derived his powers as Special Provost- 
Marshal. The functions of General Hancock were purely 
ministerial as the " Commandant of the Military Post," etc., 
and not judicial, and he took no part in the execution. The 
act, which was performed in obedience to an order of the 
President, was not Hancock's act, but the act of his superior, 
having power to command. The President's order for the 
execution of Mrs. Surratt was not the order of Hancock, but 
was the President's order, and was made on the responsibil- 
it}'- of the President. The responsibilty of that order rested 
with Andrew Johnson, and his ill-advisers ; and Andrew 
Johnson is in his grave. 



WmriELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 223 

It has been suggested that General Hancock should have 
resigned rather than have been the passive medium through 
which the order for execution was transmitted. There can 
be no weight in that suggestion. He was in commana of the 
post, and had many and diversified duties and responsibil- 
ities to perform ; and no soldier, no citizen in fact, can 
properly avoid the performance of his duty by deserting the 
post to which that duty belongs, on account of the order of 
a superior over whom he has no control. 

No oflflcer of the army has the right to resign his com- 
mission at his own pleasure, as every intelligent citizen 
knows. He may tender it, but it remains with the govern- 
ment to accept, when, where, and how it pleases. The 24th 
paragraph, Art. 5, of the United States Army Regulations, 
sa^'s : — 

" That any officer, who, having tendered his resignation, shall, 
prior to due notice of the acceptance of the same by the proper 
authority, and without leave, quit his post, or proper duties, with 
the intent to remain permanently absent therefrom, shall be 
registered as a deserter, and punished as such." 

In this instance. General Hancock retained his post and 
performed his duty. 

As the counsel of Mrs. SuiTatt, I can testify of my own 
knowledge, that he was deeply moved in her behalf, and dis- 
tressed on her account. As to the point, whether, on the 
morning of the execution of Mrs. Surratt, he refused her the 
privilege of having the spiritual consolation of her religion, 
by denying her the assistance of a priest, this charge I know 
to be untrue, and it is effectually refuted by the testimony of 
the Rev. J. A. Walter, her spiritual adviser, which has come 
to my knowledge. This testimony is in the form of a letter 
addressed by Father Walter to General Hancock, dated 
Washington, Nov. 14, 1879, which has been pubUshed, in 



224 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

which he completely refutes the charge. I quote a portion of 
his letter as follows, to wit : — 

" I am at a loss how to account for this malicious report. I 
have always believed you to be too much of a Christian and gen- 
tleman to suppose for a moment that you would interfere with 
any one's religious feelings, much less in the case of this unfor- 
tunate lady for whom you showed much sympathy. Duty which 
I owe to truth, and strict justice to you, compel me to deny these 
false charges, and exonerate you from all blame." 

In con'oboration of the foregoing explicit statement of 
Rev. J. A. Walter, I can add my own testimony establishing 
the fact of the presence of her spiritual advisers ; as on the 
morning of the execution, and just previous to that terrible 
event, when I came to bid her '' Good-by," and pressed her 
hand in parting, it was in the presence of Fathers Walter and 
Wiget, whose holy serenity seemed to fill her cell with a 
heavenly light. 

As to the charge that General Hancock refused to obey 
the writ of habeas corpus, sued out by me as the counsel of 
Mrs. Surratt before Judge W3'lie, I know this to be -s /holly 
groundless. The records of the Court show that on the 
morning of the execution, upon proper application, at the 
early hour of two o'clock. Judge Wylie with characteristic 
firmness issued the writ of habeas corpus, ordering the Com- 
mandant of the Military District in which she was confined 
to produce the body of Mrs. Surratt in his Court at ten 
o'clock (the hour of execution having been named in the 
order as between ten a. m. and two o'clock p. m. of the 
same da}') . This writ was by me handed to the Marshal of 
the District of Columbia, at a very early horn- in the morning. 
It is a fact sustained by the records of the Court, that Gen- 
eral Hancock appeared in obedience to that summons before 
his Honor Judge Wj'lie, accompanied by the Attorney-Gen- 



WINTIELD SCOTT HAJ^COCK. 225 

eral of the United States, who, as the representative of the 
President, presented to Judge AYylie the following return, 
which was an executive order suspending the writ of habeas 
corpus, to wit : — 

" Executive Office, July 7, 1865, 11 o'clock, a. u, 
"To Major-General W. S. Hancock, Commanding, etc. : 

"I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, do hereby 
declare that the writ of habeas corpus has been heretofore sus- 
pended in such cases as this ; and I do hereby especially suspend 
this writ, and direct that you proceed to execute the order hereto- 
fore given, upon the judgment of the Military Commission, and 
you will give this order in return to this writ. 

(Signed) " Andrew Johnson, President," 

It is thus seen how false is the charge that General Han- 
cock refused to obey the writ issued by Judge W3'lie. The 
ver}^ reverse is the truth. Not only did he obey the writ, so 
far as he was permitted to do so, thus subordinating the 
militar}^ to the civil power of the government, but so prompt 
and clear was the performance of his dut}', in the estimation 
of the Court, that Judge Wylie complimented him on his ready 
obedience to the civil author! tj', and discharged him from the 
process because of his own inability to enforce the order ol 
the Court. 

Judge Wylie acquiesced in the suspension of his writ by 
the President, and declined to go any further. General Han- 
cock's appearance before the Judge showed his respect for 
the civil process of the Court ; and it became his duty to pre- 
sent to the Judge the order of the President suspending the 
wrio, and to know whether he would submit to or reject the 
suspension of the writ. If Judge W^'lie had said that he 
would consider the question of validity of the order suspend- 
ing the writ when Mrs. Surratt was brought before him, and 
du'ected her to be brought into Com't, General Hancock 



226 LITE AKD PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

would doubtless have produced the body. But the Judge, 
complimenting the General for his respect for the civil 
authorit}^, dismissed his proceedings here. There was not 
the slightest show of any disposition on the part of General 
Hancock to resist the civil process of the Court. The charge, 
therefore, that he refused to obey the wi'it, is without the 
slightest foundation in truth. 

No one can at this time realize the extent of the popular frenzy 
and clamor for the execution of the parties condemned ; and 
Judge W3'lie showed great judicial integrit}^ in awarding the wiit 
at all under the circumstances. Had the order of the Court ex- 
tended further, and Judge W3-lie insisted upon the produc- 
tion before him of the body of Mrs. Sun'att notwithstanding 
the order of the President, General Hancock might then have 
been chargeable with disobeying the process, had he refused ; 
but no such further order was made, and General Hancock 
was dismissed by the Court from the process. What else could 
he have done ? While he acted under the orders of the Presi- 
dent, he submitted to and showed due respect for the judicial 
authorit3\ 

The question asked in newspaper discussions, why General 
Hancock was present at the Arsenal on the morning of the 
execution, is casil}" answered. The application for a pardon 
for Mrs. SuiTatt was expected to to be renewed that morning, 
and that on his own suggestion ; and he deemed it proper to 
be at a convenient place to afford his aid in case of a pardon. 

I was m^'self on the ground and deepl}' interested in all that 
occurred at the time, and I know the fact that General Han- 
cock afforded to Mrs. Surratt every kindness in his power, 
and was anxious that she should be spared b^^ a pardon, and 
he hoped for it up to the very last. And when Miss Anna 
Surratt called upon him at his hotel earty on the morning of 
the execution, and asked him what she could do to save the 
life of her mother, he replied, " that there was but one thing 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 227 

:emaining for her to do, and that was to go to the President, 
throw herself on her knees before him and beg for the hfe of 
tier mother." She did not ask General Hancock to accom- 
pany her to the President, nor could it have been expected, 
as that would be improper in him. And it was unnecessary, 
as her protector, Mr. Brophy, was with her. It has been 
stated that Miss Surratt thought his manner cold. His 
language to her certainly should convey any other idea. He 
was at that moment in a state of great perplexity as to the 
disposition of the writ of habeas corpus which had been serv^ed 
upon him, and suspended by the President, and he had but 
little time to make answer and return the same. To this fact 
may be ascribed his serious manner, taken for coldness. 

The facts show that so deeply was General Hancock moved 
in the matter, that his feelings led him to believe it possible 
for the President to relent at the last moment ; and should the 
President so act, that the reprieve might not arrive too late, 
but be borne swiftly on its mission of mercy, General Hancock 
had couriers stationed at points from the White House to the 
Arsenal, in order that if a pardon or respite should be issued 
by the President, at the last moment, it should reach its des- 
tination promptly and before the execution. This is the evi- 
dence of Gen. W. G. Mitchell, Chief of General Hancock's 
staff. 

This evidence is coiToborated by the sworn testimony of 
Mr. John P. Brophy, now at St. Louis College, N. Y., and 
at that time a resident of Washington City. Mr. Brophy was 
a friend of the family, and after the imprisonment of the 
mother he befriended the daughter, Anna. On the morning 
of the execution he met her at the Executive Mansion in the 
hope of seeing the President, whither she had gone at the sug- 
gestion of General Hancock to beg the life of her mother. 
JNIr. Brophy, who did all in his power to befriend the hapless 
girl and aid the mother in her sorrowful condition, and who 



228 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

is a gentleman of high character, testifies, under oath, as to 
the humanity displaj'ed by General Hancock towards the un- 
fortunate mother and daughter, on the morning of the execu- 
tion. The following are extracts from his sworn statement : — 

"On our way from the White House to the Arsenal, I 
noticed mounted soldiers at intervals along the route." These 
were the couriers, stationed by order of General Hancock, 
to convey to him anj'^ notice of reprieve from the President. 
At the Arsenal gate, he, accompanying Anna Surratt to bid 
her mother farewell, met General Hancock, who spoke to 
Anna, and, in a voice of subdued sadness, told her that he 
feared there was no hope of Executive clemency. He in- 
formed Mr. Bropby that he had, however, stationed mounted 
men all along the line to the White House for the pui'pose of 
hastening the tidings should the President at the last moment 
relent and grant a reprieve for Mrs. Surratt. He also stated 
to Mr. Brophy that, should a reprieve be granted by the 
President, it might be directed to him as Commandant of the 
Department, and that he would be at the Arsenal till the last 
moment to give effect to the same should it arrive. 

Mr. Brophy further states that he is "impelled by a sense 
of duty to add his testimony to others in vindication of one 
who has been most unjustly assailed for alleged misconduct 
of which no brave man could possibl}' be guilt}'. That he is 
not a politician, but loves justice, and feels that he has done 
an act of simple justice to as knightly a warrior as ever 
' saluted with his spotless sword the sacred majesty of the 
law.'" 

And now, my dear Sir, I believe I have covered all the 
points of yoiu" inquiry in as brief and candid a manner as 
the importance and gravity of the subject demand. 

There arc many facts connected with the trial and execu- 
tion which I have omitted as not within the scope of 3'our 
inquiry. This much, however, is fully established : that 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 229 

General Ilancock was in no wise responsible for the organi- 
zation of the Military Commission that condemned Mrs. Sur- 
ratt to death ; that her trial and execution rested entirely on 
the will and determination of the President and his consti- 
tutional advisers ; and that General Hancock in all matters 
pertaining to the same had no discretion or responsibility 
whatsoever, nor could he, from his official position, have in- 
fluenced or controlled them in the sUghtest degree. He never 
attended the sessions of the Commission, but was busily 
engaged in the diversified and extensive cares of the military 
command, which required his entire time and attention. As 
I attended the Commission every day of the trial, I know 
that he was never seen about the rooms of the Commission. 
General Hartranft attended on the Commission daily, and 
this he did as special Provost Marshal, so as to be under the 
immediate direction of the President and Secretary of War, 
instead of the Military Commandant of the Post. 

In conclusion, permit a single reflection. The trial and 
execution spoken of were demanded at the time by the whole 
Republican party ; the intensity of the public feeling and the 
infuriated demand for the execution of the condemned parties 
cannot now be realized ; and President Johnson, Secretary 
Stanton, and Judge- Advocate-General Holt, who had the 
entire control of the matter, were acting nnder the dictates 
of that political party, and simply carr3'ing out its imperative 
demands. How humiliating to the intellect of the country 
the reflection that the same political party that had the entire 
responsibility for the atrocious murder of that innocent 
woman, should now, for mere poUtical effect, attempt falsely 
.and most wrongfully to injure a brave soldier, who so often 
perilled his life to save the Union, by charging upon him 
misconduct for having in some way participated in that act 
which that whole party demanded and approved at the time ! 

For standing by Mrs. Surratt in her terrible ordeal. I my- 



230 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

self felt the malignity and vengeance of that political party 
heaped upon my own head for the humble part I took ; and, 
now, the attempt of these politicians falsely and unjustly to 
traduce General Hancock for a responsibility he never had, 
Dhows the utmost depravity of human nature. While their 
own hands are reeking with the blood of an innocent woman, 
which they had demanded with fiendish malignity, they seek 
to defame, for base purposes, one of the bravest heroes of the 
war, by the attempts to falsely implicate him in the infamy of 
their own crime. 

Respectfully yours, 

John W. Clampitt. 

Nothing needs to be added to this very comprehen- 
sive and detailed statement of Judge Clampitt. It 
shows not only General Hancock's kindness of heart 
and his unflinching performance of duty, but it illus- 
trates his reverence for and loyalty to the civil power. 
Even amid such excitement as prevailed at that time, 
he recognized the supremacy of law, and yielded to the 
representatives of law his prompt obedience. EQs 
course during this trying ordeal is a credit alike to his 
heart and his conscience. 



WINTIELD SCOTT HAXCOCK. 231 



CHAPTER in. 

Hancock again at the West. — Ho is Called back to take Command of 
the Fifth Military District. — The Stormy Couditiou of Politics at 
this Time. — Sketch of the Progress of Reconstruction. — The Quar- 
rel between the Executive and Congress. — Military Eule Triumph- 
ant. — The South Divided np into Satrapies. — Sheridan Removed, 
and Hancock Called to take his Place. 

The hour was now approaching when General Han- 
cock would be called upon to display, under circum- 
stances of peculiar difficulty and importance, the 
qualities of true statesmanship ; when thy cause of pop- 
ular liberty and free government was to find in him the 
same dauntless defender that the cause of the Union 
had found. 

Until the 10th of August, 1866, General Hancock 
remained in command of the Middle Department, 
Then he was transferred to the Department of the 
Missouri, taking command there, August 20. Here he 
displayed executive qualities involving nice tact and 
discrimination in settling complications arising between 
the returned Confederates and the State troops. Here, 
also, in March, 1867, he commanded- an expedition 
against hostile Indians in Kansas and Colorado. Dur- 
ing the same period he also served on several import- 
ant army boards. He was then appointed by President 
Johnson to succeed General Sheridan in command of 
the Fifth Military District. 

Before giving the history of General Hancock's 



232 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

administration in this department, it is necessary to 
review the condition of affairs in the South and at 
Washington at that time. 

The great question which then confronted the victo- 
rious North was that of the reconstruction of the 
Union. The Southern armies had surrendered and the 
Southern States were still unreconstructed territories 
under military government. It was apparent to all 
who had in view the welfare of the country, that the 
sooner these revolted States could resume their former 
loyal relations to the general government, the sooner 
would the ravages of war be obliterated, and prosperity 
to the whole country return. Various conflicting inter- 
ests, mainly political, but some of them arising in the 
minds of disinterested men, through fear of the conse- 
quences of too sudden restoration of the Southern 
States to participation in the Federal power, con- 
tributed to delay and tended to a lengthened probation. 

Under these conflicting influences, reconstruction 
progressed slowly. By the summer of 1865, however, 
all the lately insurgent States had governments of 
some sort that were recognized at Washington, and the 
impression prevailed that, under the policy of Presi- 
dent Johnson, they would soon resume their proper 
places as loyal members of the Union. Before the 
meeting of the Thirty-ninth Congress, each of the 
States in which provisional governments had been 
established had elected and inaugurated a permanent 
government displacing the provisional appointments. 
In all cases the ordinance of secession was annulled or 
repealed by the State convention, slavery was forever 



WIXFIELD SCOTT HAXCOCK. 233 

prohibited, the Confederate debt was repudiated, and 
the constitutional amendment adopted. Further than 
this, the laws of the old code restrictinof the civil riirhts 
of the negroes were repealed. 

It would certainly seem that States which had par- 
ticipated, as States, in such a high office as the amend- 
ment of the Constitution of the United States, needed 
no further recognition of their existence on an equality 
as to powers with the rest ; but such was not the view 
taken by those who controlled the legislation of Con- 
gress. Bitter antagonism was immediately aroused 
against President Johnson because of his efforts to 
bring back the rebellious States without subjecting 
them to the dangerous and destructive operation of a 
government through Congressional enactment. In 
December, 1865, the President had, in answer to a 
resolution of the Senate callini? for information reirard- 
ing the condition of the Southern States, replied that 
the rebellion had been suppressed, the United States 
courts restored, post-offices established, and steps taken 
to put in operation the revenue laws. The late Con- 
federate States, he said, had reorganized their govern- 
ments and were yielding obedience to the laws and 
government of the United States with more willingness 
and greater promptitude than under the circumstances 
could reasonably have been anticipated ; and in nearly 
all the States measures had either been adopted or were 
then pending, to confer upon freedmen the rights and 
privileges essential to their comfort, protection, and 
security. "The people," he said, "throughout the 
entire South, evinced a laudable desire to renew their 



234 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

allegiance to the government, and to repair the devas- 
tations of war by a prompt and cheerful return to 
peaceful pursuits. An abiding faith is entertained that 
their actions will conform to their professions, and that, 
in acknowledging the supremacy of the Constitution 
and laws of the United States, their loyalty will be 
unreservedly given to the government whose leniency 
they cannot fail to appreciate, and whose fostering care 
will soon restore them to a condition of prosperity. 
From all the information in my possession, I am 
induced to cherish the belief that sectional animosity 
is surely and rapidly merging into a spirit of nation- 
ality, and that representation, connected with a prop- 
erly adjusted system of taxation, will result in a 
harmonious restoration of the States to the National 
Union." The observations on which President John- 
son based this message to Congress were made by 
General Grant and General Schurz who had been sent 
on a tour through the South for this especial purpose. 

But Conirrcss had a " Select Committee on Eecon- 
Btruction," whose members quarrelled among them- 
selves, and naturally quarrelled with the President. As 
it had been no purpose of the politicians who really 
ruled the war department during the four years previous, 
to bring the war to a speedy close, now it .brmed no 
part of the desire of these men to see the wounds of 
the war closed up by a prompt reconstruction of the 
lately rebellious States. 

The first obstruction placed in the way of reconstruc- 
tion was unnecessary delay in the report of this select 
committee. What ought to have occupied them no 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 235 

more than a fortnight was made to consume six months ; 
and when the plan of reconstruction was at last sub- 
mitted, Jan. 22, 1866, it was only for the purpose of 
quarrelling still further over it. ]\Ieantime the Southern 
States were kept out of representation in Congress, 
although they had loyal men to send there, and one 
measure of aggravation was passed after another. The 
Freedmen's Bureau had its scope and powers enlarged 
by Congress, until it became a monstrous jDolitical 
machine ; and then began the long contest between the 
Executive and Congress which ended in the attempt 
at impeachment. President Johnson very powerfully 
pictured the situation in his speech at Washington on the 
22d of February, 1866. "An attempt," he said, "is being 
made to concentrate all power in the hands of a few at the 
Federal head, and thereby bring about a consolidation of 
the Kepublic, which is equally objectionable with its 
dissolution. We find a power assumed and attempted 
to be exercised of a most extraordinary character. We 
see now that governments can be revolutionized with- 
out going into the battle-field, and sometimes the revo- 
lutions most distressing to a people are effected without 
the shedding of blood ; that is, the substance of your 
government may be taken aw^ay, while there is held out 
to you the form and the shadow\ We find that by an 
iiTCsponsible central directory nearly all the powers of 
Congress are assumed, without even consulting the 
legislative and executive departments of the government. 
. You have been struo:2:lin<j: for four years to 
put down a rebellion. You contended at the beginning 
of that struggle that a State had not a right to go out. 



23 G LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

You said it had neither the right nor the power ; and it 
has been settled that the States had neither the right 
nor the power to go out of the Union. And when you 
determine by the executive, by the military, and by 
the public judgment that those States cannot have any 
right to go out, this committee turns around and as- 
sumes that they are out, and that they shall not 
come in." 

The conflict between the President, supported by the 
most liberal and conservative public men in the coun- 
try, and a resolute and determined partisan majority in 
Congress, continued to gain in intensity ; and after the 
fall elections in 1866 showed a majority for the op- 
ponents of reconstruction a new departure was taken. 
The famous Military Bill was passed. This bill declared 
that no legal State governments existed in the lately 
rebellious States, and that in these States there was no 
adequate protection for life or property. These States 
were therefore distributed into military districts, and 
placed under military government. The first district 
comprised Virginia ; the second. North and South 
Carolina ; the third, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida ; 
the fourth, Mississippi and Arkansas ; the fifth, Louisi- 
ana and Texas. The President was to appoint a com- 
mander for each district, and to detail a sufficient 
military force in his support. The duties of the com- 
manders were, "to protect all persons in their rights of 
person and property, to suppress insurrection, disorder, 
and violence, and to punish or cause to be punished all 
disturbers of the public peace and criminals." To this 
end they were authorized to either allow local civil tri- 



WIXriELD SCOTT HAXCOCK. 237 

bunals to take jurisdiction of and try offenders, or, at 
their discretion, to organize military commissions for 
the trial of offenders, and this exercise of military 
authority should exclude interference on the pai-t of the 
State government. The district commander was made 
an absolute despot, the only restraint put upon him 
being the requirement of the President's approval of any 
death sentence he might impose, before the execution 
could take place. 

It will thus be seen that it was within the power of 
the military commander to treat the inhabitants of a 
Southern State according to the requirements of a 
military code, and very many well-meaning people 
believed that such a government should be exercised in 
the States lately in rebellion, during the lives of the 
present generation, or until the men lately in arms 
against the Union had, by a long probation, brought 
forth fruits meet for repentance. On the other hand, 
it was within the power of the military commander to 
give full effect to the local laws and civil regulations, 
only using his military power where the reign of law 
and order had not re-established itself, or where the 
men, recently the owners of other of their now freed 
fellow-men, were disposed to exercise over the latter a 
power which no longer belonged to them. 

President Johnson, of course, vetoed this bill, as he 
did all the partisan and obstructive legislation of Con- 
gress ; but it was passed over his veto. In his veto 
message he described the power given the military 
commander by this bill as " that of an absolute mon- 
arch, his mere will taking the place of all law ; it 



238 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

places at his free disposal all the lands and goods in 
his district, and he may distribute them to whom he 
pleases ; he may make a criminal code of his own, and 
he may make it as bloody as any recorded in history, 
or he may reserve the privilege of acting upon the im- 
pulse of his private humors in each case that occurs. 
It is plain that the authority here given to the military 
officer amounts to absolute despotism. But, to make 
it still more unendurable, the bill provides that it may 
be delegated to as many subordinates as he chooses to 
appoint ; for it declares that he shall ' punish or cause 
to be punished.' Such a power has not been wielded 
in England for more than five hundred years. It 
reduces the whole population of the ten States — all 
persons, of every color, sex, and condition, and every 
stranger within their limits — to the most abject and 
degrading slavery. No master ever had a control over 
his slaves so absolute as this bill gives to the military 
officers over both white and colored persons." 

But when the bill was passed in spite of these objec- 
tions, the President had no choice but to carry out its 
provisions. He therefore appointed Generals Scholield, 
Sickles, Pope, Ord, and Sheridan to be commanders of 
the five districts in the order named. An attempt was 
made to render the powers conferred by this bill less 
despotic, through an opinion of the Attorney-General 
construing the act ; but Congress at once passed an 
" explanatory act " insisting upon the most radical con- 
struction of the law. Then the conflict became more 
bitter, and the President dismissed Secretary Stanton 
from his cabinet because of his hostility to the Execu- 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 239 

live policy, succeeding in forcing him out after an 
obstinate and prolonged struggle on the Secretary's part. 
Then two of the district commanders, who had been 
most zealous in the use of the despotic power conferred 
upon them by Congress, were also removed. These 
were General Sickles, commanding the Second District, 
comprising North and South Carolina ; and General 
Sheridan, the ruler of the Fifth District, comprising 
Louisiana and Texas. 

General Sheridan lacked the calm judicial tempera- 
ment necessary in one holding such a place. He had 
not the self-poise required to maintain a clear and level 
head there. Moreover, he was very much of a parti- 
san in politics, and his fiery nature showed itself there 
as in the battle-field. It was a very poor choice that 
President Johnson made when he put Sheridan in com- 
mand of the Fifth District, and the event proved the 
mistake. Sheridan lost his temper and his head, ruled 
the district like an autocrat, rode rough-shod over all 
civil law, and before he had been in power a fortnight, 
had gone far to reduce his district to the condition of * 
a satrapy. 

General Thomas was first chosen by the President to 
take the place of General Sheridan, but on his declina- 
tion General Hancock was appointed. 



240 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OB 



CHAPTER lY. 

Hancock takes Command of the Fifth Military District. — His Recep- 
tion at Washington. — Speech at a Serenade. — The vast Powers 
placed in his Hands. — Absolute Ruler of two great States. — His 
Opening Proclamation. — The Famous ''Order No. 40." — Judge 
Black's Letter. — The Principles of American Liberty find their 
Advocate. 

It was under such peculiarly delicate and exciting 
conditions of public sentiment and of the governmental 
departments, that General Hancock was summoned to 
the service of his country in a capacity where the calm- 
est judgm?>nt, the wisest patriotism, and the most prac- 
tical experience of men and of affairs was needed. He 
proved equal to the task of carrying the burden of 
responsibility laid upon him. 

General Hancock was summoned to Washington by 
order of the President assigning him to the command 
of the Fifth Military District, Aug. 28, 18G7. The 
removal of Sheridan was strongly opposed by General 
Grant, who at that time had been brought into antago- 
nism with the policy of President Johnson, and who was 
already looked upon as the probable candidate for the 
Presidency by the Republican party in 1868. But the 
high-handed proceediiigs of the military commander 
in the Fifth District, absolutely overriding and crushing 
out all civil authority, had created alarm among think- 
ing people who believed that the war had been fought 
to save the Union and not to set up a military despot- 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 241 

ism; and they hastened to do honor to Hancock, in 
whose stanch principles and strict integrity they had 
the same confidence they had in his valor. 

They complimented him with a serenade on the 24th 
of September, prior to his departure for the South, at 
which he made one of those clear, straightforward, and 
manly speeches for which he is noted. Among other 
things he said : — 

••' I thank you for this testimony of your appreciation of 
my past services, and confidence in my abiUty to perform my 
dut}^ in a new and difierent sphere. Educated as a soldier 
in the military school of our country, and on the fields of the 
Mexican war and American rebellion, I need not assure you 
that my course as a District Commander will be characterized 
by the same strict soldierly obedience to the law there taught 
me as a soldier. I know no other guide or higher duty. Mis- 
representation and misconstruction arising from the passions 
of the hour, and spread by those who do not know that devo- 
tion to duty has governed my actions in every trying hour, 
may meet me. But I fear them not. I ask then, citizens, 
that I may not be judged in advance, and that time may be 
permitted to develop my actions. As a soldier I am to ad- 
minister the laws rather than discuss them. If I can admin- 
ister them in spirit with due charity to the governed and to 
the satisfaction of my country, I shall indeed be happy in 
the consciousness of a duty performed." 

On the same occasion, Hon. Eobert J. Walker ad- 
dressed the assemblaore, referrinof in his remarks to the 
known character of General Hancock and what mijrht 
be expected of him. He said : — 

*' And now, fellow-citizens, General Hancock is entering 
upon a new career ; and although his new trust is mihtary. 



242 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

still in point of name it has its civil duties, and imposes a 
task of the utmost difficulty in its proper fulfilment. He has 
truly said his duty is to carry out the laws of his country, 
and he has said wisely ; because a soldier of the Republic 
most truly defends a country when he defends the laws of 
that country ; and, fellow-citizens, he will not be a judge as 
to whether the law is wise and expedient, or as to whether it 
be otherwise. His duty is purely a ministerial duty — te^ 
carry out the laws as they are written. 

"The judicial power, according to the Constitution, h 
vested exclusively in the courts of the country. They alont 
can pass final adjudication upon the law and say whether it 
is constitutional or not ; but when a law is passed according 
to the forms prescribed in the Constitution, unless it be 
arrested by the decision of the judicial authorities, the execu- 
tive officer must and is sworn to execute it as one of the laws 
of the country. But, fellow-citizens, while I. am sure that 
General Hancock will execute the laws in a true spirit, and 
according to the meaning that must be placed upon them, I 
am also sure that he will do it in a spirit of charity and 
kindness." 

With such pledges of devotion to the Constitution 
and the laws — welcome words in the ears of a public 
which had become too freely accustomed to have both 
derided as impotent in the presence of the military 
arm — General Hancock set out to assume command 
on the 29th of November. 

In the Fifth Military Department there had been 
some few disturbances, caused by the natural opposi- 
tion to the violent military rule of General Sheridun ; 
and these, highly exaggerated in the reports of the 
partisan press, which was even then under a sort of 



WINTIELD SCOTT HAXCOCK. 243 

surveillance, had greatly excited the Northern people. 
General Hancock's predecessor had not hesitated to 
make the military arm felt superior to the civil law, 
and to construe the power given him by the Act of 
Keconstruction as absolute and irresponsible. 

It is safe to say that almost any civil governor, not 
to say military man, finding himself clothed with such 
authority and backed up with ample forces, would have 
treated the unreconstructed and unrepentant rebels 
with the rigor which was expected of him by the party 
majority in Congress. 

That such was not the course of General Hancock is 
the crowninof credit of his life. It is no secret that he 
did not relish, much less covet, this command. His 
reputation as a soldier and a patriot was unsurpassed. 
He had the gratitude of all classes of Union men for 
his great services in the field, and it was believed that 
the Southern people would respect and obey his orders 
as they would those given by few others of the men 
who had subdued them. At the same time it was 
expected that so stern and unyielding a disciplinarian 
as Hancock, who always saw his orders carried out at 
the greatest personal exposure of himself, would brook 
no disorder, but would rule Louisiana and Texas with 
'JL stern and steady hand. 

General Hancock obeyed his orders, and assumed 
command of the Fifth Military District. His first 
official act was to inform the people of Louisiana and 
Texas that he had come to be their Governor under the 
Eeconstruction Act, and to let them know how he pro- 
posed to rule over them. He issued his celebrated 



244 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

"General Orders No. 40," dated the 29th day of 
November, 1867. 

Probably no more astonished and delighted people 
could be found than the people of Louisiana and Texas 
when the purport of that order came to be understood. 
They expected to have, what they had had before, a 
military dictator. They expected to be governed by 
"orders" instead of laws, and to live under a military 
despotism, instead of governing themselves by their 
own civil resrulations. 

General Hancock informed them that he took com- 
mand in accordance with the orders he had received 
from the Headquarters of the Army, but that he did 
not propose to rule them by military orders at all. Pie 
congratulated the people of the South-West that peace 
and quiet reigned among them. To best preserve that 
state of things he proposed to let the civil authorities 
execute the civil laws. War he regarded as only nec- 
essary to destroy opposition to lawful authority ; but 
when peace was established and when the civil authori- 
ties were ready and willing to perform their duties, the 
military power should cease to lead and the civil ad- 
mhiistration should resume its natural and rightful con- 
ditions. He declared himself solemnly impressed with 
the belief that the great principles of American liberty 
were the lawful inheritance of the whole people, and 
should forever continue to be. He declared that the 
right of trial by jury, habeas corpus, liberty of the 
press, freedom of speech, the natural rights of person 
and of property, should be preserved. He believed 
<^bat free institutions, being essential to the prosperity 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 245 

and happiness of the people, were themselves the 
strongest inducements to peace and order. He de- 
clared that the civil authorities and tribunals should 
have the consideration of and jurisdiction over crimes 
and ofi'ences, and should be supported in the exercise 
of that jurisdiction. But while thus recoofnizinof the 

" CO 

rights of the people, he announced, with soldier-like 
directness and brevity, that he should suppress armed 
insurrection and forcible resistance to law by force of 
arms at once. 

The Order No. 40, issued at such a time and under 
such circumstances, is so admirably illustrative of Gen- 
eral Hancock's turn of mind, so sincere, and withal so 
judicious, that we present it here in full : — 

Gbneual Orders No. 40. 

ileadqra.rters fiftii military district, \ 
New Orleans, La., Nov. 29, 1867. \ 

1. In accordance with General Orders No. 81, Headquar- 
ters of the Army, Adjutant-General's Office, Washington, 
D. C, Aug. 27, 1867, Major-General W. S. Hancock hereby 
assumes command of the Fifth Military District and of the 
Department composed of the States of Louisiana and Texas. 

2. The General Commanding is gratified to learn that 
peace and quiet reign in this department. It wiU be his pur- 
pose to preserve this condition of things. As a means to 
this great end he regards the maintenance of the civil author- 
ities in the faithful execution of the laws as the most efficient 
under existing circumstances. 

In war it is indispensable to repel force by force, and over- 
throw and destro}^ opposition to lawful authority. But when 
insurrectionary tbrce has been overthrown and peace estab- 
lished, and the civil authorities are ready and wiUing to per- 



246 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

form their duties, the militarj^ power should cease to lead, 
and the civil administration resume its natural and rightful 
dominion. Solemnly impressed with these views, the Gen- 
eral announces that the great principles of American liberty 
are still the lawful inheritance of this people, and ever should 
be. The right of trial by jury, the habeas corpus, the liberty 
of the press, the freedom of speech, the natural rights of 
persons and the rights of property must be preserved. 

Free institutions, while they are essential to the prosperity 
and happiness of the people, always furnish the strongest 
inducements to peace and order. Crimes and offences com- 
mitted in this district must be referred to the consideration 
and judgment of the regular civil tribunals, and those tri- 
bunals will be supported in their lawful jurisdiction. 

Should there be violations of existing laws which are not 
inquired into by the civil magistrates, or should failures in the 
administration of justice by the courts be complained of, the 
cases will be reported to these headquarters, when such orders 
will be made as may be deemed necessary. 

While the General thus indicates his purpose to respect 
the liberties of the people, he wishes all to understand that 
armed insurrection, or forcible resistance to law, will be 
instantly suppressed by arms. 

By command of Maj.-Gen. "W. S. Hancock. 

[Official.] 

This order, so novel in the history of the series of 
military experiments known as reconstruction, was 
flashed all over the land that night, and every news- 
paper printed it the next morning. It was received 
with delight by all who truly believed in the supremacy 
of the ideas on which our Republic is founded. It was 
hailed as the presage of a return from the anarchy of 



WINFIELD SCOTT HAl^COCK. 247 

war to the safe rule of peaceful law. The policy of 
conciliation and restoration, which the lamented Presi- 
dent Lincoln inaugurated, had received a serious check 
when he fell by the hand of the assassin. Andrew 
Johnson had honestly attempted to carry out the ben- 
eficent scheme which his predecessor originated, but had 
failed through lack of those qualities of intellect and of 
heart which enabled Lincoln to restrain party antago- 
nism within limits, and to carry his point, and still 
retain the support of Congress and the confidence of 
the people. It was a dark day for constitutional gov- 
ernment ; and when, from among the military com- 
manders who had been endowed with arbitrary power, 
there appeared one who refused to exercise this power 
otherwise than in the support of and subordinate to civil 
law, the announcement came as a beam of sunlight 
throui^h the dark clouds that overhuno: the land. 

Judge Black, one of the ablest constitutional lawyers 
our country has produced, sat down and wrote as follows 
to General Hancock, when he read that now famous 
"Order No. 40 " in the morning papers : — 

Washington, Nov. 30, 1867. 

My Dear General : — This moment I read your admirable 
order. I am much engaged, but I cannot resist the tempta- 
tion to steal time enough from my clients to tell you how 
gi-atefui 3'ou have made me b3^ your patriotic and noble be- 
havior. 

Yours is the first, most distinct, and most emphatic recog- 
nition which the principles of American liberty have received 
at the hands of any high officer in a Southern command. It 
has the very ring of the Revolutionary metal. Washington 



248 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

never said a thing in better taste or better time. It will 
prove to all men that ' ' Peace has her victories not less 
renowned than those of war." 

I congratulate you, — not because it will make you the most 
popular man in America, for I dare say you care nothing 
about that, — ^but because it will give you, through all time, the 
solid reputation of a true patriot and a sincere lover of your 
country, its law and its government. This, added to youi 
brilliant achievements as a soldier, will leave you without a 
rival in the affections of all whose good-will is worth having, 
and gives you a place in history which your children will be 
proud of. 

This acknowledgment from me does not amount to much ; 
but I am expressing only the feelings of millions, and 
expressing them feebly at that. 

With profound respect. 

Yours, etc., 

J. S. Black. 
Major-General Hancock. 

It was under such auspices that General Hancock 
began his administration in Louisiana and Texas. His 
first word was to proclaim the rule of law. 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 249 



CHAPTER V. 

Reception of "General Order No. 40." — Civil Government Resumes 
it8 Sway. — Hancock's Orders Develop the Capacity of the People 
for Local Self-Government. — The Laws to bo Sustained by the 
Military Arm. — The Qualifications of Jurors. — Disposition of 
Property by the Courts. — Sale of a School Section. — Registration 
of Voters. — Effect of General Hancock's Orders. 

It was on the basis of the principles enunciated in 
his " General Order No. 40," that General Hancock 
besran and continued his administration in the Fifth 
Military District. These principles are immortal ; they 
lie at the very foundation of our system of free gov- 
ernment ; and it was with delighted wonder, that the 
people of Louisiana and Texas heard from the lips of 
one in whom they had expected to find a military 
satrap, these patriotic and statesmanlike sentiments : 
"The right of trial by jury, the habeas corpus, the 
liberty of the press, the freedom of speech, the natural 
rights of persons and the rights of property should be 
preserved." 

They looked for a Caesar, and they found in his stead 
the expounder and defender of the Constitutional laws 
of the fathers, and the exponent of the rights of the 
free men who speak the English tongue. 

The effect on men so recently disbanded from armed 
rebellion, and now morose, soured, disappointed, and 
disposed to place obstacles in the way of any resump- 
tion of the old Federal relations, was electric. Lcmisi- 



250 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OP 

ana and Texas, for the time-being, moved forward on 
the road to reconstruction with brisk eagerness, out- 
stripping their sisters ; and had General Hancock 
remained in command, the disorders which followed, 
the misrule and contention, culminating in actual 
anarchy, and rendering Louisiana at last a fit instru- 
ment for the perpetration of a great crime, would not 
have taken place. 

With admirable tact, and a keen sense of justice to 
the laws of the country, as well as to the people of 
Louisiana and Texas, he reconciled the differences that 
had previously prevailed, and which had had their 
origin in the abominable carpet-bag governments that, 
since the close of the war, had blighted those States. 
Instead of an oppressor, the Louisianians and Texans 
found in him a governor inspired by motives of the 
purest patriotism and of the highest justice. 

The general order with which he opened his admin- 
istration was a revelation to an oppressed, robbed, and 
humiliated people. There was everything in this order 
to produce a profound sense of gratitude in the hearts 
of those to whom it was addressed. Following it, 
came for awhile the blessings of peace and prosperity, 
and but for the fact that the administration at Wash- 
ington removed General Hancock from his sphere of 
justice and beneficent government, the period of mis- 
rule in Louisiana and Texas would have come to an 
end at that time. 

General Hancock maintained the purity and inde- 
pendence of the elections, refused to organize military 
commissions to take the place of judicial trials, and 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 251 

would permit no military interference with civil admin- 
istration. The mayor of New Orleans formally 
requested his interference by military order in certain 
proceedings against the corporation. General Han- 
cock declined, on the ground that his interference would 
be unconstitutional, and could only be exercised in an 
emergency which did not, in his opinion, then exist. 

He was requested by the general commanding the 
District of Texas, to order a military commission for 
the trial of a certain offender. He declined, statins' as 
his reasons, that, while the act passed by Congress "for 
the more efficient government of the rebel States" 
made it the duty of commanders of military districts 
to punish disturbers of the public peace and criminals, 
that power, from the nature of things, should only be 
exercised when the local civil tribunals were unable or 
unwilling to enforce the laws, a supposition which did 
not exist, a State government in subordination to the 
United States beins: then in the full exercise of its 
powers in Texas. 

General Hancock's predecessor had summarily, by 
military order, removed the clerk of a court, and had 
appointed another in his place. General Hancock 
revoked this order, on the ground that if there were 
any charges against the clerk so removed, the courts 
were competent to take action in the premises. 

His predecessor had rendered the administration of 
justice inefficient, by instituting certain qualihcations 
for persons to be eligible to do jury duty, such qualifi- 
cation being made by military order. General Hancock 
revoked the order, announcing that he would not per- 



252 LLFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

mit the civil authoritiea to be embarrassed by military 
interference. 

In December he issued an order prohibiting military 
interference with the elections, miless when necessary 
to keep the peace at the polls, as being contrary to law ; 
and he ordered that no soldiers be allowed to appear at 
any polling place, unless as citizens of the State, regis- 
tered voters, and for the purpose of voting ; but he 
ordered, further, that the commanders of posts act 
promptly in preserving the peace in case the civil 
authorities failed to do so. 

Men, interested in civil controversies, in great num- 
bers applied at the General's headquarters for interfer- 
ence, assuming on his part both the arbitrary powei 
to interfere and the willingness to do so. General 
Hancock, by general order, again announced that the 
administration of civil justice pertained only to the 
regular courts, and that the rights of the litigants did 
not depend on his views as to the merits of their cases. 

Having been appealed to by ihe Governor of the 
State to remove from office the pres'dent and members 
of the police jury of the parish of Orleans, they being 
charged with appropriating public funds to their own 
use, General Hancock reiterated the principle that 
these were matters pertaining to the civil administra- 
tion, and should be solely dealt with by the courts. 

The acts of General Hancock's administration were 
simply the development of this fundamental idea of 
popular government : That the people must govern 
themselves through the laws made by their chosen 
representatives, and that the sole duty of the military 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 253 

arm was to prevent interference with the operation of 
these laws. 

This was, indeed, a great change from the policy 
which had prevailed ; but it was a wise chano-e. In- 
stead of accustoming the people to the sight of an 
authority superior to law, and thus breeding a contempt 
for law and for all forms of civil government. General 
Hancock taught them that the law was supreme ; that 
it was competent to protect them ; and that it would 
be maintained in its supremacy by the full force of the 
United States army, if needed. 

Under the vicious system that had prevailed up to 
the time of his assumption of command in the Fifth 
District, the civil authority had been either utterly 
ignored or made a servile attendant on the military 
power. Hancock changed all this. He put away the 
power which was oiaered him, and proclaimed himself 
subject where he was commissioned to be autocrat. 
There has never been known a nobler sacrifice of ambi- 
tion to patriotism than that which General Hancock 
showed when he stripped himself of all the extraordi- 
nary powers conferred upon him, and elevated civil 
government to its proper place of supremacy, pledging 
himself to maintain its authority with his life, if 
necessary. Grand as were his sacrifices in the cause of 
the Union when assailed by arms, his record as the civil 
administrator at a time when free, popular government 
seemed about to pass away from the land, is brio-hter 
yet. 

The law under which he was acting as commander of 
the Fifth Military District allowed him, at his discre- 



25i LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

tion, to assume all the authority of civil administration. 
He could make and unmake judges and courts ; could 
himself adjudicate cases of every description ; could 
be, in his own person, the absolute autocrat of the two 
States under his rule ; or he could sustain the civil 
authority, and permit a free, popular government to 
be maintained, in which the rights of all would be 
acknowledged. He preferred to relinquish power for 
himself, and to place it where it belonged. 

The orders by which he carried out this beneficent 
change show so strongly the clear judgment, the fine 
perception, and the absolutely unwavering conscien- 
tiousness of the General, that we append a few for the 
purpose of illustration. 

The people of Louisiana and Texas had been so long 
accustomed to look to the w^him of the military com- 
mander for the settlement of all questions of law arising 
in the intercourse of man with man, and even in those 
larger matters in which municipal corporations were 
concerned, that they at once and continually besieged 
General Hancock with applications to settle this, that, 
and the other controversy, which belonged, not to the 
military, but to the civil branch of the government. 
Hancock invariably turned them over to the courts, 
with the infoiTnation that w^hatever the law decided 
would be carried out, backed by all the force at his 
disposal. 

Upon his arrival at New Orleans, General Hancock 
found that distrust of the courts, and contempt for the 
civil administration of justice, was largely caused by 
the unwise and arbitrary regulations, established by his 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 255 

predecessor, concerning the qualifications of jurors for 
service in the several courts. He therefore at once 
revoked the regulations, in the order from which we 
make the following extract, showing that, from the first, 
he comprehended the situation, and knew that relief 
was to be obtained only by establishing civil authority 
on a basis that would command respect : — 



Headquaeters Fifth Military District, 
JNew Orleans, La,, Dec. 5, 1867. 
Special Orders No. 203. 



2. The true and proper use of military power, besides 
defending the national honor against foreign nations, is to 
uphold the laws and civQ government, and to secure to ever}'' 
person residing among us, the enjoyment of life, libert}", and 
propert3\ It is accordingly made, by act of Congress, the 
duty of the commander of this district to protect all persons 
in those rights, to suppress disorder and violence, and to 
punish, or cause to be punished, all disturbers of the public 
peace and criminals. 

The Commanding General has been officially informed that 
the administration of justice, and especially of criminal jus- 
tice, in the courts, is clogged, if not entirely frustrated, by 
the enforcement of paragraph No. 2, of the military order 
numbered special orders 125, current series, from these 
headquarters, issued on the 24th of August, A. D. 1867, 
relative to the qualifications of persons to be placed on the 
jury lists of the State of Louisiana. 

To determine who shall and who shall not be jurors, 
appertains to the legislative power ; and until the laws in 
existence regulating this subject shall be amended or changed 
by that department of the civil government, which the con- 
stitutions of all the States under our republican system vest 



256 LIFE AIS^D PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

with that power, it is deemed best to carry out the will of 
the people as expressed in the last legislative act upon this 
subject. 

The qualification of a juror, under the law, is a proper 
subject for the decision of the courts. The Commanding 
General, in the discharge of the trust reposed in him, will 
maintain the just power of the judiciary, and is unwilling to 
permit the civil authorities and laws to be embarrassed by 
lailitary interference ; and as it is an established fact that 
the administration of justice in the ordinary tribunals is 
greatly embarrassed b}'' the operations of paragraph No. 2, 
special orders No. 125, current series, from these head- 
quarters, it is ordered that said paragraph, which relates to 
the qualifications of persons to be placed on the jurj'- lists of 
the State of Louisiana, be, and the same is hereb}' revoked, 
and that the trial by jury be, henceforth, regulated and con- 
trolled b}' the Constitution and civil laws, without regard 
to any militar}' orders heretofore issued from these head- 
quarters. 

• • • • •••«•« 

By command of Major-General Hancock. 
[Official.] 

Neither would he, as so many of the military com- 
manders did, permit property and valuables to bo 
placed in his hands, or in those of his subordinates, 
under circumstances where ordinarily the courts would 
assume control. His hands were always clean, and he 
would tolerate no suspicion of dishonesty, and give no 
opportunity for it among those about him. So, on the 
16th of December, 18G7, we find him issuing an order 
revoking one that his predecessor had made, and re- 
storing the estate of a citizen of New Orleans to the 



WIXriELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 257 

control of the local tribunals, and ordering that the 
property be turned over "to the possession of the 
party entitled to the same by the order of court." 

As a further illustration of the matters which mili- 
tary governors had been accustomed to decide accord- 
ing to their humor at the moment, thus breeding in the 
people a distrust of popular government and a 
demoralizinof habit of reliance on the will of one man 
in power, there was the case of the sale of a school 
section in Avoyelles Parish, on which the people had 
voted, but which was sent to General Hancock for ap- 
proval or revocation. He replied, placing the whole 
matter in the hands of the citizens of that parish, just 
where the authority of right belonged. This is his 
decision on the question : — 

Headquarters Fieth Military District, 
Ofeice of Secretary for Civil Affairs, 

New Orleaj^s, La., Dec. 28, 1867. 

Lieutenant-Colonel W. H. Wood, Commanding District of Louisiana, New 

Orleans, La. : 

Colonel, — I am directed bj^ the Major-General Command- 
ing to acknowledge receipt of a letter from Nelson Durand 
(forwarded b}' 3^ou) , stating that the treasurer of Avoyelles 
Parish, La., caused an election to be held to ascertain if the 
citizens of the township were in favor of selling a school 
section belonging to the parish, and requesting an opinion as 
to the legahty of said election. 

In reply to said letter, I am directed by him to state that 
if the provision of the law were complied with in regard to 
advertisements, the manner of taking the sense of the inhab- 
itants, and legal voters only were admitted to take part, there 
seems to be no reason why the action should be considered a 
nullity. It was not, properly speaking, an election, but a 



258 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

way prescribed by law of arriving at the will of the com- 
munity as regards the disposition to be made of certain 
school lands belonging to the parish. 

The previous authorization of the Major-General Com- 
manding is not considered necessary. But if the sense of 
the people was not dul}' regarded (on the previous occasion) , 
as to the foregoing requirements, the matter should be again 
referred to them for a free and legal expression of their 
opinion. 

I am, Colonel, very respectfully. 

Your obedient sei-vant, 

W. G. Mitchell, 
Bot. Lieut.'CoL, U. S. A., Sed'yfor Civil Affairs. 

In the same way, when the Governor of Louisiana 
asked General Hancock to turn out of ofSce the mem- 
bers of a police board, whom he accused of malfeasance 
in office, without any judicial investigation of the 
matter, General Hancock read him a courteous but 
emphatic lesson on the proper course for justice to take 
under a government of law, sending him the following 
communication : — 

HnADQUAIlTERS FiFTH MILITARY DISTRICT,^ 

Office of Secrktauy for Civil Affairs, > 

New Orleans, La., Dec. 30, 1867. ) 

His Excellency B. F Flanders, Governor of Louisiana : 

Governor, — I am directed bj^ the Major-General Com- 
manding to acknowledge the receipt of j'our communication 
of the 11th inst., with papers and documents accompanying 
the same, charging the Police Jury, Parish of Orleans, right 
bank, with appropriating to their own use and benefit the 
public funds of said parish, and with being personall}' intcr- 
*>sted in contracts let by them, and recommending the removal 



WINFIELD SCOTT HAJS^COCK. 259 

from office of the president and members of said Police Jurj^ ; 
and, in repl}'', to state tliat these charges present a proper 
case for judicial investigation and determination ; and as it ia 
evident to him that the courts of justice can afford adequate 
relief for the wrongs complained of, if proved to exist, the 
Major-General Commanding has concluded that it is not ad- 
visable to resort to the measures suggested in your excellency's 
communication . 

I am, Governor, very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

W. G. Mitchell, 
Bvt. IJeut.'Col., U. S. -4., Sec'y for Civil Affairs, 

Then there was the business of registration of voters, 
with which General Hancock's predecessor had inter- 
fered in an arbitrary manner, interpreting the laws 
after a fashion which gave opportunity for fraud and 
for oppression that had been turned eagerly to partisan 
advantage. He promptly revoked the orders, abdi- 
cated the autocratic throne assumed by his predeces- 
sor, and informed the Board of Registrars that, as 
they were given full powers in the matter by act 
of Congress, he should hold them responsible for the 
proper and exact performance of their duties. In this 
way he removed another obstacle to local self-govern- 
ment. Following is the order : — 

Headquarters FirTH Military District, ) 
Mew Orleans, La., Jan. 11, 1868. ) 
General Orders No. 3. 

Printed '' Memoranda of disqualifications for the guidance 
of the Board of Registrars, under the Military Bill passed 
March 2, 1867, and the BiU supplementary thereto," and 
' ' Questions to be answered by persons proposing to regis- 



260 LIFE AKD PUBLIC SERVICES OP 

ter," were distributed from these headquarters in the month 
of May, 1867, to the members of the Boards of Registration, 
then in existence in the States of Louisiana and Texas, for 
the registration of " the male citizens of the United vStates" 
who are quaUfied to vote for delegates under the acts entitled 
" An act to provide for the more efficient government of the 
Rebel States." 

These ' ' Memoranda " and ' ' Questions " are as follows : — 
[The Memoranda, being length}^, are omitted.] 
Grave differences of opinion exist among the best informed 
and most conscientious citizens of the United States, and the 
highest functionaries of the National Government, as to the 
proper construction to be given to the acts of Congress pre- 
scribing the qualifications entitling persons to be registered 
as voters, and to exercise the right of suffrage at the elec- 
tions to be holden under the act entitled ' ' An act to provide 
for the more efficient government of the Rebel States " and 
the acts supplementary thereto. Such differences of opinion 
are necessary incidents to the imperfection of human language 
when employed in the work of legislation. 

Upon examining those acts, the Commanding General finds 
himself constrained to dissent from the construction given to 
them in the "Memoranda" referred to. This construction 
would of com'se necessarily exclude all officers holding offices 
created under special acts of the State Legislatures, includ- 
ing all officers of municipal corporations, and of institutions 
organized for the dispensation of charity, under the authority 
of such special laws. Such a construction, in the opinion of 
the Major-General Commanding, has no support in the lan- 
gaage of the acts of Congress passed on the 2d and the 23d 
of March, 1867, which were the only acts in existence when 
these "Memoranda" were distributed. Since that time, 
however, what was before, in the opinion of the Command- 
ing General, only an error of construction, would now be a 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 261 

contravention of the law, as amended and defined in the act 
of July 19, 1867. 

The Major-General Commanding also dissents from various 
other points in the construction given to the disqualif\ing 
clauses of the acts in question, as shown by the "Memo- 
randa " referred to ; but he will add nothing further to what 
he has already said on the subject, because his individual 
opinions cannot rightfully have, and ought not to have, any 
influence upon the Boards of Registration in the discharge 
of the duties expressly imposed upon and intrusted to them 
by these acts of Congress as they now stand. The Boards 
of Registration are bodies created by law with certain lim- 
ited but well-defined judicial powers. It is made their 
especial dut}^ "to ascertain, upon such facts as they can 
obtain, whether anj^ person applying is entitled to be regis- 
tered" under the acts. Their decisions upon the cases of 
individual applicants are final as to the right, unless appeals 
are taken, in the proper form, and carried before competent 
superior authority for revision ; and, like the members of 
ordinary courts engaged in the exercise of judicial func- 
tions, it is the bounden duty of the members of the Boards 
of Registration to decide uj^on the questions as to the right 
of any applicant, on the facts before them, and in obedience 
to the provisions of the law. 

Since the passage of the act of July 19, 1867, it is net 
only tlie right, but the solemn duty of the members of these 
Boards, each for himself, and under the sanction of his oath 
of office, to interpret the provisions of the acts from which 
the authority of the Boards was derived, and to decide upon 
each case according to the best of his own judgment. 

The distribution of the above ' ' Memoranda ** was well 
calculated to produce the impression in the minds of the 
members of Boards of Registration, that they constituted 
rules prescribed to them for their government in the dis- 



2G2 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

charge of their official duties which they were required to 
obe}^ ; and it seems certain from various communications of 
facts in relation to the mode of carr}dng out the registration, 
that the}^ were so regarded by the members of the Boards, 
and that they not onlj' influenced, but in point of fact, con- 
ti'olled the proceedings of the different Boards. 

In consequence of this, and as the time for the revision of 
the registration in the State of Texas is now at hand, and 
the duty of making the revision will, it is probable, in a great 
degree be performed by persons who are members of the 
Boards of Registration, to which the " Memoranda" in ques- 
tion were distributed for their guidance, the Major-General 
Commanding deems it of importance that the members of the 
Boards of Registration, and the people at large, should be 
informed that the "Memoranda" before referred to, dis- 
tributed from the headquarters of this Militar}^ District, are 
null and of no effect, and are not now to be regarded by 
the Boards of Registration in making their decisions ; and 
that the members of the Boards are to look to the laws, and 
to the laws alone, for the rules which are to govern them in 
the discharge of the delicate and important duties imposed 
upon them. 

For this purpose, they will be furnished with copies of the 
acts of Congress relating to this subject, and of the amend- 
ment (known as Ai'ticle XIV^) to the Constitution of the 
United States. 

In case of questions arising as to the right of an}^ indi- 
vidual to be registered, the person deeming himself aggrieved 
is entitled to his appeal from the decision of the Board, and 
the Boards are directed to make a full statement of the facts 
in such cases, and to forward the same to these headquarters 
without unnecessar}" delay. 

^y command of Major-General Hancock. 
[Official.] 



WINFIELD SCOTT HAXCOCK. 263 

The beneficial effect of these orders was seen at once 
in the increased respect paid the courts, in the greater 
steadiness of society and of business, and in the growth 
of a manly self-reliance among citizens. 



264 LUE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 



CHAPTER VI. 

General Hancock and the Carpet-Ba£;gers. — Governor Pease and 
Constitutional Government. — Hancock refuses to Supplant the 
Courts by Military Commissions. — He will not Interfere with 
Civil Suits in the Courts. — Riparian Rights not to be Adjuli- 
cated upon by Courts-Martial. — "Arbitrary Power has no Exist- 
ence here." 

The governors of the Southern States, at this time, 
were of the sort known as carpet-baggers. They were, 
of course, intense partisans, and often men of little 
or no honest principle. The plunder and ruin of so 
many Southern States attests the shameful work of 
these men, who were appointed to place and power for 
which they were notoriously unfit, as a reward for 
political service, and who at once proceeded to make 
the most of their opportunity' for enriching themselves. 
They relied upon the support of the Federal troops in 
maintaininor their control and in shieldins: them from 
the consequences of their misconduct. They had no 
idea of constitutional government, or, if they had, they 
deliberately and persistently acted in denial of such 
knowledge. Instead of leading the States which they 
governed in the path of reconstruction toward a sound 
popular government, they used every endeavor to per- 
petuate military rule and to crush the authority of law 
under the might of arms. 

To a statesman like Hancock, such a monstrous 



WINFIELD SCOTT HAJS^COCK. 265 

wrong was unendurable. Although not a politician, 
he knew more of the constitutional history of our coun- 
try than all of these creatures of party. His studies at 
West Point had grounded him in the fundamental prin- 
ciples of our system, and as a man he had added to this 
knowledge the teaching of a wide experience of and 
acquaintance with the methods of popular government. 
He knew that in our Eepublic the people ruled them- 
selves, and he had fought and shed his blood to secure 
for them the right of self-government. Now he was 
brought into contact with men in office who demanded 
that the people should not govern themselves, but 
should be ruled by officials whom they did not choose, 
under military coercion ; and that this state of things 
should continue indefinitely. 

This perversion of power was most abhorrent to Han- 
cock, who was striving to reinstate the rule of law and 
to educate a community, demoralized by war, up to the 
point of local self-government again. 

Very naturally, his ideas soon clashed with those of 
the carpet-bag governors. They looked to him for 
arbitrary military interference over the head of the law 
and the courts ; he demanded that the law, and not his 
individual will, should be the ruling power, and insisted 
that the law should be obeyed. 

He very soon came into conflict with Governor Pease 
of Texas, as we have already stated, on the subject of 
the appointment of military commissions ; and the let- 
ter in which he declares his position on this matter is 
so clear and comprehensive, that we give it here- 
with : — 



266 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 



Headquahters Fifth Military District, 
Office of Secretauy for Civil Affairs, 

New Orleans. La., Dec. 28, 1867. 

His Excellency E. M. Pease, Governor of Texas : 

Sir, — Brevet Maj.-Gen. J. J. Reynolds, commanding Dis- 
trict of Texas, in a communication dated Austin, Tex., 
Nov. 19, 18G9, requests that a military commission ma}^ be 
ordered '' for the trial of one G. W. Wall and such other 
prisoners as may be brought before it," and forwards in sup- 
port of the request, the following papers : 

1st. A printed account taken from a newspaper dated 
Uvalde, Oct. — , 1867 (contained in a letter of James H, 
Taylor, and in another from Dr. Ansell, U. S. Sm-geon at 

Fort Inge) , of the mm'der of R. W. Black, on the day 

of October, ISO 7. In this account it is stated Mr. Black 
was shot through the heart by G. W. Wall " while lying on 
the counter at Mr. Thomas's store." 

2d. A letter of Judge G. H. Noonan to Governor Pease, 
dated Nov. 10, 1807, informing him that ''Wall, Thacker, 
and Pullian are in confinement in Uvalde County for murder." 
In this letter it is asked, ' ' Would it not be best to try them 
by military commission ? " 

3d. A letter from Governor Pease, dated "Executive of 
Texas, Austin, Nov. 11, 1867," in which the Governor states 
that he received a telegram from Judge G. H. Noonan, an 
extract from which I transmit herewith. In the letter of the 
Governor the further statement is made that "Uvalde Count}', 
where the prisoners are confined, is on the extreme western 
frontier of the State, and has only about one hundred voters 
in a territory of about nine hundred square miles," and he 
then adds, " It is not probable that they (meaning the prison- 
ers) can he kept in confinement long enough ever to be tried 
by the civil courts of that count}'' ;" and expresses the opinion 
that they never ' ' can be brought to trial unless it is done 



WINFIELD SCOTT HAJS'COCK. 267 

before a military commission." And he therefore asks that a 
military commission be ordered for their trial. 

From an examination of the papers submitted to the Com- 
mander of the Fifth Military District, it does not appear that 
there is any indisposition or unwillingness on the part of the 
local civil tribunals to take jurisdiction of, and to try the 
prisoners in question ; and a suggestion made by the Gov- 
ernor that it is not probable the prisoners can be kept in 
confinement long enough to be tried by the civil courts (and 
which is apparentl}^ based on the fact that Uvalde County is 
a frontier count}', and does not contain more than a hun- 
dred voters) , seems to be the only foundation on which the 
request for the creation of a military commission is based. 
This, in the opinion of the Commanding General, is not suffi- 
cient to justify him in the exercise of the extraordinary 
power vested in him by law ' ' to organize militar}^ commis- 
sions or tribunals" for the trial of persons charged with 
offences against the laws of a State. 

It is true that the third section of ' 'An act to provide for 
the more efficient government of the Rebel States," makes it 
the duty of the commanders of militarj" districts " to punish, 
or cause to be punished, all disturbers of the public peace and 
criminals ; " but the same section also declares that ' ' to that 
end he ma}^ allow local civil tribunals to take jurisdiction of, 
and to tr}' offenders." The further power given to him in 
the same section, "when in his judgment it may be neces- 
sar}' for the trial of offenders," to organize military commis- 
sions for that purpose, is an extraordinary power, and from 
its very nature should be exercised for the trial of offenders 
against the laws of a State only in the extraordinary event 
that the local civil tribunals are unwilling or unable to enforce 
the laws against crime. 

At this time the country is in a state of profound peace. 
The State Government of Texas, organized in subordination 



268 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

to the authority of the Government of the United States, is in 
the full exercise of all its proper powers. The courts, duly 
empowered to administer the laws, and to punish all offenders 
against those laws, are in existence. No unwillingness on 
the part of these courts is suggested to inquire into the offences 
with which the prisoners in question are charged, nor are any 
obstructions whatever in the way of enforcing the laws against 
them said to exist. Under such circumstances there is no 
good ground for the exercise of the extraordinary power 
vested in the commander to organize a military commission 
for the trial of the persons named. 

It must be a matter of profound regret to all who value 
constitutional government, that there should be occasions in 
times of civil coimnotion, when the public good imperatively 
requires the intervention of the military power for the repres- 
sion of disorders in the bod}' politic, and for the punishment 
of offences against the existing laws of a country framed for 
the preservation of social order ; but that the intervention of 
this power should be called for, or even suggested, by civil 
magistrates, when the laws are no longer silent and civil 
magistrates are possessed, in their respective spheres, of all 
the powers necessary to give effect to the laws, excites the 
surprise of the commander of the Fifth Military District. 

In his view it is of evil example, and full of danger to the 
cause of freedom and good government, that the exercise of 
the militar}' power, through military tribunals created for the 
trial of offences against the civil law, should ever be permitted, 
when the ordinary powers of the existing State Governments 
are ample for the punishment of offenders, if those charged 
with the administration of the laws are faithful in the dis- 
charge of their duties. 

If the means at the disposal of the State authorities are 
insufficient to secure the confinement of the persons named in 
the communication of the Governor of the State of Texas to 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 269 

the General Commanding there, until the}^ can be legally tried, 
on the fact being made known to him, the Commander of the 
district will supply the means to retain them in confinement, 
and the commanding officer of the troops in Texas is so 
authorized to act. If there are reasons in existence which 
justify an apprehension that the prisoners cannot be fairly 
tried in that coant}^ let the proper civil officers have the 
*' venue" changed for the trial, as provided for by the laws 
of Texas. 

In the opinion of the Commander of the Fifth Military Dis- 
trict, the existing government of the State of Texas possesses 
all the powers necessarj^ for the proper and prompt trial of 
the prisoners in question in due course of law. 

If these powers are not exercised for that purpose, the fail- 
ure to exercise them can be attributed onl}'^ to the indolence 
or culpable inefficiency of the officers now charged with the 
execution and enforcement of the laws under the authority of 
the State Government ; and if there is such a failure, in the 
instance mentioned, on the part of those officers, to execute 
the laws, it will then become the dut}^ of the commander to 
remove the officers who fail to discharge the duties imposed 
on them, and to replace them with others who will discharge 
them. 

Should these means fail, and it be found, on further expe- 
rience, that there are not a sufficient number of persons 
among the people now exercising political power in Texas, 
to supply the public with officers who will enforce the laws of 
the State, it will then become necessary for the commander 
of the Fifth Military District to exercise the powers vested in 
him by the acts of Congress under which he is appointed, 
for the purpose of vindicating the majesty of the law. But 
until such necessit}^ is shown to exist, it is not the intention 
of the Commanding General to have recourse to those powers ; 
and he deems the present a fitting occasion to make this 



270 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

known to the Governor of Texas, and through him to the 
people of the State at large. 

I am, su", very respectfully. 

Your obedient serv^ant, 

W. G. Mitchell, 
Bvt. Lieut-Col., U. S. A., Sec'yfor Civil Affairs, 

So pressing were the requests that he should inter- 
terfere with his military authority in matters which 
belonged strictly to the courts, and in which individual 
judgment had no place, that General Hancock was 
compelled, early in his administration, to issue a gen- 
eral order explaining why such interference would not be 
permitted. The following order was promulgated : — 

Headquarters Fifth Military District, ) 
Mew Orleans, La., Jan. 1, 1868. \ 
General Orders No. L 

Applications have been made at these headquarters imply- 
ing the existence of an arbitrar}^ authorit}' in the Commanding 
General touching purel}' civil controversies. 

One petitioner solicits this action, another that, and each 
refers to some special consideration of gi'ace or favor which 
he supposes to exist, and which should influence this De- 
partment. 

The number of such applications and the waste of time they 
involve, make it necessary to declare that the administration 
of civil justice appertains to the regular courts. The rights 
of litigants do not depend on the views of the general — they 
are to be adjudged and settled according to the laws. Ai*bi- 
trary power, such as he has been urged to assume, has no ex- 
istence here. It is not found in the laws of Louisiana or of 
Texas — it cannot be derived from any act or acts of Con- 
gress — it is restrained by a constitution and prohibited from 
action in many particulars. 



WLN FIELD SCOTT HAJJ^COCK, 271 

The Major-General Commanding takes occasion to repeat 
that, while disclaiming judicial functions in ci\il cases, he can 
suffer no forcible resistance to the execution of process of the 
courts. 

By command of Major-General Hancock. 
[Official.] 

To understand what sort of applications compelled 
the issuance of the above order, it is only necessary to 
mention that the mayor of New Orleans actually asked 
the Commanding General to exercise his military author- 
ity to stop suits against the city of New Orleans on its 
coiporate notes ! The following is General Hancock's 
reply :— 

Headquartebs Fifth Military District^ 

Office of Secretary for Civil Affairs, C 

New Orleans, La., Dec. 20, 1867. 3 

The Hon. E. Heath, Mayor of New Orleans : 

Sir, — In answer to your communication of the 30th ult., 
requesting his intervention in staying proceedings in suits 
against the city on its notes, the Major-General Commanding 
du'ects me to respectfully submit his views to you on that 
subject as follows ; — 

Such a proceeding on his part would, in fact, be a stay-law 
in favor of the city of New Orleans, which, under the Con- 
stitution, could not be enacted by the Legislature of the 
State ; and, in his judgment, such a power ought to be exer- 
cised by him, if at all, only in a case of the most urgent 
necessity. 

That the notes referred to were issued originally in viola- 
tion of the charter of the city, cannot be denied ; but the 
illegal act has since been ratified by the Legislature. The 
Corporation is therefore bound to pay them ; and, even if a 
defence could be made on technical grounds, it would be dis- 



272 LIFE AKD PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

gi'aceful for the citj to avail itself of it. Wliy, then, should 
the creditors of the city be prevented from resorting to the 
means given them to enforce the obligation? 

In support of 3*our application, you state that the city is 
unable to pay its debts. This is, unfortanatety, the case with 
most debtors ; and on that ground nearly all other debtors 
would be equally entitled to the same relief. 

The Supreme Court of this State has decided that taxes 
due a municipal corporation cannot be seized, under execu- 
tion, by a creditor of the corporation, nor is any other 
property used for municipal purposes liable to seizure. If, 
therefore, a constable levies an execution on such property, 
he is a trespasser ; and the city has its remedy against him in 
the proper tribunal. 

It does not, therefore, seem to the Major-General Com- 
manding that there is an urgent necessity which would justify 
his interference in the manner required. Besides, the expe- 
diency of such a measure is more than questionable ; for, 
instead of reinstating the confidence of the public in city 
notes, it would probably destroy it altogether. 

I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. G. Mitchell, 
Bvt. Lieut.-Col.^ U. S. A.^ Sec*y for Civil Affairs, 

And if further illustration is necessary to show to 
what extent this demoralizing policy of military inter- 
ference had been carried, and how necessary it was to 
stop it before all respect for the law was destroyed, we 
present the following letter of General Hancock, which 
explains in itself the request, and gives the answer : — 

HEADatTARTERS FiFTH MILITARY DISTRICT,^ 

Office of Secretary for Civil Affairs, > 

New Orleans, La., Jan. 2, 18G8. ) 

Henry Van Vleet, Esq., Chief Engineer: 

Sir, — In reply to yoxxr communication, requesting the 
Major-General Commanding to issue a certain order relative 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 273 

to the New Orleans, Mobile and Chattanooga Railroad Corn- 
pan}^, I am directed by him to state : — 

That the order asked for embraces questions of the most 
important and delicate nature, such as the exercise of the 
right of eminent domain, obstruction of navigable rivers or 
outlets, etc., and it appears to him very questionable whether 
he ought to deal with questions of that kind ; nor is it clear 
thai, any benefit could result to the company from such an 
order. 

So far as the State of Louisiana is concerned, there can be 
no difficulty in obtaining a decree of appropriation of the land 
which may be required for the enterprise, according to the 
existing laws, as the company has been regularly incorporated 
under the general corporation act. Be this, however, as it 
may, the question of power ^ which the company desires solved 
by the proposed order, belongs properly to the judiciary, and 
therefore the Major-General Commanding declines to take 
action in the matter. 

If you desire, the papers in this case, together with a copy 
of this letter, will be forwarded to the Secretary of War. 

I am, sir, very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

W. G. Mitchell, 
Bvt. Lieut. 'Col. ^ U. S. A., Sec* y for Civil Affairs, 

In all the vastly perplexing duties of his civil admin- 
istration, General Hancock pursued the same calm, 
unwavering purpose ; on whatever side he was assailed 
with demands for the elevation of the military over the 
civil power, he consistently and convincingly showed 
that the civil authority must rule, and the military only 
support the laws and suppress violent opposition to 
them. 



274 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERTICES OF 



CHAPTER Vn. 

Troops at tlie Polls. — Hancock's Famous Order. — Soldiers to Visit 
the Polls only to Vote. — Hancock Declines to use his Troops for 
the Collection of Taxes. — He Instructs Governor Pease in the Art 
of Law and of Civil Government. — The Usurpations of the Freed- 
men's Bureau. — Hancock's Letter to General Howard on the Sub- 
ject. 

One of the most humiliating acts of the carpet-bag 
rulers of the Southern States was the policing of the 
polls with Federal bayonets at the time of election. It 
was done under the plea that violence and intimidation 
were feared. The natural effect, of course, was to 
inflame the passions of the people and induce violence 
where none was ever contemplated before. But the 
most emphatic proof of the insincerity of this plea 
is found in the fact that the entire civil government, in 
every department, was in the hands of the men who 
pretended to fear violence at the polls, and that in all 
places there was an army of occupation, ready to 
answer, at a moment's call, the demand for troops to 
support the police in case of trouble. 

It is unnecessary to recite the instances of gross 
fraud and perversion of the will of the people which 
occurred under this system. It was impossible that 
men of the character of those who then held the gov- 
ernment should conduct themselves honestly when they 
held not only the entire civil machinery of elections in 
their hands, but also controlled an armed force with 



WTNTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 275 

wliicli to exclude any or all citizens from the polls at 
their will. It is easily understood how, with these 
resources, they permitted none to vote except those 
who would vote as they wished. 

Every occurrence of this sort, of course, increased 
the bad feeling among the people, and naturally led to 
violence. It was the direct way in which to breed and 
foster hatred of the government whose representative 
was a bayonet, and at the same time to accustom the 
people to the sight of the degradation of the civil 
power below that of the military. 

One of General Hancock's early acts was to remove 
this unrepublican idea. He took the constitutional 
ground that the civil officers of the peace must alone have 
charge of the duty of preserving order at elections, 
unless, in the opinion of the civil authorities, violence 
prevailed to such an extent that it could not be quelled 
without the aid of the military. As in all his orders, 
he held that the military arm should be used only to 
sustain the civil authority, not to supersede it. Gen- 
eral Hancock's order on this subject is as follows : — 

Headquarters Fifth Military District, ) 
New Orleans, La., Dec. 18, 1867. J 

Spkcial Orders No. 213. 

EXTRACT. 

I. In compliance with the supplementary act of Congress 
of March 23, 18G7, notice is hereby given that an election 
will be held in the State of Texas on the tenth, eleventh, 
twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth days of February, 18G8, 
to determine whether a convention shall be held, and for 
delegates thereto, "to form a constitution" for the State 
under said act. 



276 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

IX. Militar}^ interference with elections, *' unless it shall 
be necessary to keep the peace at the polls," is prohibited by 
law ; and no soldiers will be allowed to appear at any polling 
place, unless, as citizens of the State, they are registered as 
voters, and then only for the purpose of voting ; but the 
commanders of posts will be prepared to act promptly if the 
civil authorities fail to preserve the peace. 

X. The sheriff and other peace oflicers of each county are 
required to be present during the whole time the polls are 
kept open, and until the election is completed, and will be 
made responsible that there shall be no interference with 
judges of election, or other interruption of good order. 

As an additional measure to secure the purit}' of the elec- 
tion, each registrar or clerk is hereby clothed, during the 
election, with authorit}' to call upon the civil oflicers of the 
county to make arrests, and, in case of failure of the afore- 
said civil oflicers, are empowered to perform their duties 
during the election. They will make full report of such 
failures on the part of civil officers to the Commanding 
General, Fifth Military District, through the headquarters, 
District of Texas, for orders in each case. 

• ••••• •• • • 

By command of Majok-General Hancock. 
[Official.] 

The idea instilled into the minds of those appointed 
to civil rule in Louisiana and Texas seemed to be that 
they were to govern by military force. General Han- 
cock was constantly in receipt of requests from the 
carpet-baggers of various degrees of authority, to 
undertake by military power the work which, under a 
proper scheme of government, would rest entirely with 
the civil arm. It was thus in the matter of troops at 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 277 

the polls. The Governor wanted the military to take 
control to the exclusion of the proper civil authorities, 
because it suited his purpose better. So in the matter 
of the collection of taxes. Before there had been any 
attempt to collect the levy, an appeal for force was sent 
to General Hancock. He replied as follows : 

HEADQrARTERS FiFTH MILITARY DISTRICT ") 

Office of Secretary for Civil Affairs, ' (. 

New Orleans, La., Jan. 15, 1868. ) 

H. Peralta, Esq., Auditor of Public Accounts, New Orleans, La. : 

Sir,— I am directed by the Major- General Commanding to 
acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 13th iust., in which 
yoii state that the '-taxes imposed by the Constitutional 
Convention cannot be collected through the ordinary process 
of collecting taxes in this State," and "refer the whole 
matter to him for his action ; " and, in reply, to state that the 
tax-collectors of the parishes of Orleans and Jefferson, in 
their report to you of the same date, say that "the tax- 
payers have generally refused to pay the tax." By reference 
to the ordinance of the convention, you will find "that the 
Auditor of Public Accoujits of the State shall, as under 
existing laws in relation to the collection of taxes, superin- 
tend and control the collection of said tax of one mill per 
cent. , and shall give immediate notice and instructions to the 
different sheriffs and tax-collectors." 

It does not appear, from your statement, that any process 
for the collection of this tax has issued, or that any othei 
steps have been taken, except giving notice in the news- 
papers, and a demand to pay, which has been refused. No 
resort has been made to those coercive means to enforce the 
payment of taxes pointed out by the laws of the State ; this 
it is your duty to direct the tax-collector to do. When thai 
is done (and forcible resistance should be made) , the Major- 



278 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

General Commanding will, upon it being reported to him, 
take prompt measures to vindicate the supremacy of the law. 
I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. G. Mitchell, 
Bvt. Lieut.-Col.^ U. S. A., Sec'y for Civil Affairs. 

Even this did not satisfy them, and a subsequent 
inquiry was made of General Hancock as to what he 
would do in case the civil courts interfered with the 
tax-collectors in the discharge of their duties. General 
Hancock made this reply : — 

Headquarters Fifth Military District,^ 

Office of Secretary for Civil Affairs, > 

New Orleans, La , Jan. 21, 1878. ) 

Hon. Wm. p. McMillan and Hon. M Vidal, Special Committee: 

Gentlemen, — The Major-General Commanding directs me 
to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 17th inst., 
and to state in reply that the second ordinance of the Con- 
stitutional Convention, adopted on the 4th of Januar}^, 1868, 
provides a new mode for the collection of the tax, and 
imposes penalties on defaulting tax-payers. 

You request the Commandmg General to state what his 
action would be, should the civil courts of Louisiana interfere 
with the collectors in the discharge of their duties. 

In this connection, the Commanding General deems it 
unnecessary to repeat what he has already stated in reply to 
a previous letter concerning his authority on this subject. 

It would be highly improper for him to anti'^ipate any 
illegal interference of the courts in the matter. 

Whenever a case arises for the interposition of the powers 
vested in the Commanding General by the acts of Congress, 
he will promptly exercise them for the maintenance of law 
and order. 

I am, sir, verj' respectfull}', 3'our obedient servant, 

W. G. Mitchell, 
Bvt. Lieut.'CoL, U. S. A., Sec'y for Civil Affairs. 



WIXFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 279 

General Hancock, although not bred to the law or to 
politics, was doing a most excellent work in teaching 
these lawyers and politicians the rudiments as well as 
the details of civil administration. It can truthfully be 
said that few governors of States have ever had so 
many perplexing questions of law and of jurisdiction 
placed before them for decision as General Hancock was 
assailed with when he was given absolute power, for 
good or for evil, in the carpet-bag-ridden States of 
Louisiana and Texas. And in deciding these cases he 
showed a clearness of mind and a genius for adminis- 
tration which entitle him to a high place among execu- 
tive officers. If he was not born a statesman, he 
certainly developed into one. 

The contrast between Hancock and the general whom 
he was sent to supersede on the critical first day of the 
Gettysburg fight is clearly shown by the incidents 
which occurred about this time. General Howard was 
at the head of the Freedmen's Bureau ; and, as this 
Bureau was run almost exclusively as a party machine, 
there was inevitable conflict between its operations and 
the purposes of a commander who was acting for his 
country and not for party. Some friction having 
occurred in General Hancock's department, he addressed 
a letter to General Howard on the subject, which is 
given here for the reason that in it Hancock again states 
certain vital principles which it would have been well 
to inculcate in the minds of all district commanders 
at that time. 



280 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OP 



HEADQrARTERS FiFTH MILITARY DISTRICT, 

New Orleans, La., Feb. 24,1868. 

Major-General O. 0. Howard , Commissioner of Bureau Refugees, Freed- 
men, and Abandoned Lands, Washington D. C : 

General, — Keferring to the report of Captain E. Collins, 
Seventeenth Infantry, sub-assistant commissioner of the Bu- 
reau refugees, freedmen, and abandoned lands, at Brenham, 
Tex., dated Dec. 31, 1867, and transmitted b}" you for my 
information, I have the honor to state that I do not under- 
stand how any orders of mine can be interpreted as interfer- 
ing with the proper execution of the law creating the Bureau. 
It is certainly not my intention that they should so interfere. 
Anything complained of in that letter, which could have law- 
fully been remedied by the exercise of military authorit}', 
should have received the action of General Reynolds, who, 
being military commander, and also Assistant Commissioner 
for Texas, was the proper authority to apply the remedy, and 
to that end was vested with the necessary power. 

A copy of the report of Captain Collins had already been 
forwarded to me by General Rej'nolds before the receipt of 
your communication, and returned to him Januar}' 16th, with 
the following indorsement: " RespGctfully returned Brevet 
Maj.-Gen. J. J. Reynolds, commanding District of Texas. 
This paper seems to contain only vague and indefinite 
complaints, without specific action as to an}^ particular cases. 
If Captain Collins has any special cases of the nature 
referred to in his communication, which require action at 
these headquarters, he can transmit them, and they will 
receive attention." 

No reply has been received to this ; a proof either of the 
non-existence of such special cases, or of neglect of duty on 
the part of Captain Collins in not reporting them. It is, and 
will be my pleasure as well as duty, to aid 3'ou and the offi- 
cers and agents under youi' direction, in the proper execution 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 281 

of the law. I have just returned from a trip to Texas. 
Whilst there I passed through Brenham twice, and saw 
Captain Collins ; but neither from him nor from General Rey- 
nolds, did I hear anything in regard to this subject, so far as 
I recollect. 

There are numerous abuses of authority on the part (^f 
certain agents of the Bureau in Texas, and General Reynolds 
is already investigating some of them. 

My intention is to confine the agents of the Bureau within 
their legitimate authority, so far as my power as district com- 
mander extends ; further than that, it is not my intention or 
desire to interfere with the Freedmen's Bureau. I can say, 
however, that had the district commander a superior control 
over the freedmen's affairs in the district, the Bureau would 
be as useful, and would work more harmoniousl}", and be 
more in favor with the people. At present there is a clash- 
ing of authority. I simply mention the facts without desir- 
ing an}' such control. 

The Reconstruction Acts charge district commanders with 
the dut}'- of protecting all persons in their rights of person 
and property' ; and to this end authorize them to allow local 
civil tribunals to take jurisdiction of, and try offenders ; or if 
in their opinion necessary, to organize a military commission 
or tribunals for that purpose. 

They are thus given control over all criminal proceedings 
for violation of the statute laws of tlie States, and for such 
other offences as are not b}' law made triable by the United 
States courts. The Reconstruction Acts exempt no class of 
persons from theu* operation, and the duty of protecting all 
persons in their rights of person and property, of necessity 
invests district commanders with control over the agents of 
the Bureau, to the extent of at least enabling them to restrain 
these agents from any interference with, or disregai'd of their 
prerogatives as district commanders. 



282 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

The district commanders are made responsible for the pres- 
ervation of peace and the enforcement of the local laws 
within their districts ; and they are the ones required to 
desiGfnate the tribunals before which those who break the 
peace and ^'iolate these laws shall be tried. 

Such being the fact, many of the agents of the Bureau 
seem not to be aware of it. In Texas, some are j'et holding 
courts, trying cases, imposing fines, taking fees for serAdces, 
and arresting citizens for offences over which the Bureau is 
not intended by law to have jurisdiction. 

General Reynolds is aware of some of these cases, and is, 
as I have already mentioned, giving his attention to them. 

In Louisiana, this state of aflfairs exists to a less extent, if 
at all. 

I am, General, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. S. Hancock, 
3fajor- General U. S. Army Commanding. 

Howard, it will be observed, had been eager in 
usurping authority which did not belong to his agents ; 
Hancock had, from the first, refused to assume the 
authority vested in him at his discretion, whenever the 
civil government could perform the duty. The differ- 
ence is that between a government by the people, under 
laws of their own enactment, and a government of cen- 
tralized force, acting through agents irresponsible to 
the people. 



WINFIELD SCOTT HAXCOCK. 283 



CHAPTER ym. 

The Carpet-Baggors protest against Civil Govermnent.— Governor 
Pease's Open Letter.— General Hancock's Reply.— The Soldier de- 
fends the Constitution and the Rights of the People against the Law- 
yer. — Congress attempts to get rid of Hancock.— A Bill which They 
dared not pass.— Grant made the Instrument of the Radicals. — 
He supersedes the President and revokes Hancock's Orders.— 
Hancock's Resignation. 

It was quite natural that the carpet-bag governors of 
Louisiana and Texas should dislike General Hancock's 
system. It deprived them of the arbitrary power which 
they had been accustomed to wield, and gave the people 
a chance to govern themselves in a quiet and decent 
way under the law. They saw their consequence and 
their opportunities for profit falling away from them, 
and they realized that, with returning prosperity, peace, 
and contentment, their occupation as governors would 
be gone. Hence they rebelled against Hancock's 
dechiration that " the right of trial by jury, the habeas 
corpus, the liberty of the press, the freedom of speech, 
the natural rights of persons, and the rights of property 
should be preserved." 

Governor Pease of Texas was especially worried 
about the reign of law which General Hancock had intro- 
duced. This Pease had been appointed to his place 
under mihtary rule, and he had himself ruled with 
recklessness and cruelty. Shortly after he came into 
office, all of the judges of the Supreme Court of Texas, 



284 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

five in number, and twelve out of seventeen of the 
district judges, were arbitrarily removed from office ; 
and others, whom this functionary desired, were 
appointed in their places. In addition to this, the 
county officers in seventy-five out of the one hundred 
and twenty-eight counties were removed, and others 
appointed in their places. By arbitrary order, none 
but persons capable of taking the test oath, and regis- 
tered as such, were allowed to serve as jurors. 

No people but one defeated and exhausted by a long 
and bloody war, would have endured such outrages. 
Such arbitrary acts, of themselves, would have been 
sufficient, under ordinary circumstances, to have de- 
luged any State in blood. But the oppressed ex-rebels 
proudly endured the wrong in silence. 

This wrong, General Hancock, as soon as he took 
command, aimed to repair; and his first step in this 
direction was the promulgation of the famous " General 
Order No. 40." To this order Governor Pease took 
exception, and sent to the press an open letter addressed 
to General Hancock, in which he criticised with great 
severity the action of the latter in issuing the order. 

He cited the act of Congress providing "for the 
more efficient government of the Southern States," 
which made the government of Texas provisional, and, 
as a part of the Fifth Military District, subject to mili- 
tary law. He affirmed that the President had put 
Hancock in command of a military force to protect the 
rights of property and person, suppress insurrection 
and violence, and to punish oflenders either by military 
commissions or by the local civil tribunals, as his judg- 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 285 

ment mi2:ht seem best. He declared further that there 
were practically no local civil tribunals ; that it was not 
true, as was alleged in " Order No. 40," that there was 
no longer any organized resistance to the authority of 
the United States, but that, on the contrary, a large 
majority of the white population who participated in 
the late rebellion were embittered against the govern- 
ment, yielding only an unwilling obedience, having no 
affection, and but little respect, for the government. 
He declared that the people of Texas regarded the 
reconstruction leo:islation of Con«:ress as unconstitu- 
tional, the provisional governfnent a usurpation, and 
the emancipation of their slaves and their own disfran- 
chisement as insult and oppression. For this and simi- 
lar reasons. Governor Pease demanded that General 
Hancock set aside the local tribunals, and enforce 
penalties by military commissions. 

Here the spectacle was presented to the world of a 
civil executive demanding that military rule shall be 
established above the law of the Jand, and arguing the 
case aofainst an old soldier who had staked even his 
military position on the issue that the law of the land 
shall prevail over the power which he himself wielded. 

But the soldier lost no time in repulsing this civilian 
assault upon his works. Governor Pease had given his 
letter to the press, for political effect at the North, long 
before he sent it to General Hancock ; but the latter 
replied at once on receipt of the missive, and with 
vigor. 

He pointed out the option given him by the Kecon- 
struction Act, to govern by the local civil tribunals, if 



286 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

in his judgment he thought best. The act, therefore, 
recoi^nized those local civil tribunals as le^^al authori- 
ties for the purpose specified. 

He showed that such matters as the affection or 
respect or hatred of the people, so long as not devel- 
oped into violation of law, were matters beyond the 
power of human tribunals, and that freedom of thought 
and speech, though acrimonious, was consistent with 
human welfare. What the people of Texas thought 
of the constitutionality or unconstitutionality of acts 
of Congress, had nothing to do with the manner in 
w^hich they should be ruled. 

He declared that, at the expiration of two years after 
the close of the war, it w^as time to remember that it 
was proposed that the American people should be free- 
men and that it was time to tolerate free popular dis- 
cussion, and to extend forbearance and consideration 
to opposing views. 

He showed that to deny a profound state of peace in 
Texas necessitated a like denial in regard to any State 
in the Union where differences of opinion exist between 
majorities and minorities, and that, if difficulties in 
enforcinir criminal laws in Texas authorized the scttino^ 
aside of the local tribunals and the setting up of arbi- 
trary military commissions, they would warrant them 
in every State of the Union, where it is true that sher- 
iffs fail often to arrest, where grand jurors will not 
always indict, where petit juries have acquitted per- 
sons who were guilt}^, and where prisoners charged 
wdth offences have broken jail and escaped. Such 
reasons for establishing military commissions would 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 287 

wipe civil government and law and liberty from the 
face of the earth. 

He showed with clearness that if he set aside the 
laws enacted for the people of the States lately in 
rebellion, which laws were not in conflict with the 
Constitution and acts of Congress, there would no 
longer exist any rights of person and property ; and 
be demonstrated the absurdity of a military commis- 
sion to establish wills, deeds, successions, or to settle 
any of the thousand questions which arise between 
men, for the solution of which laws and courts ^^ere 
established, and for dealing with which military com- 
missions were utterly incapable. 

He finally showed from the statistics that neither 
crime nor disloyal offences were on the increase under 
the operation of "Order No. 40," but that the contrary 
was expressly true. 

But no synopsis can do justice to this letter, which 
is not only admirable as an exposition of the constitu- 
tional rights of citizens, but is a model of elegant and 
forcible composition. The mental strength of the writer 
is shown in every line. Following is the letter in 
full: — 

Headqttarters Fifth Military Distbict, ) 
New Orleans, La., March 9, 1868. ^ 

To His Excellency E. M. Pease, Governor of Texas : 

Sm, — Your communication of the 17th January last, was 
received in due course of mail (the 27th January), but not 
until it had been widely chculated by the newspaper press. 
To such a letter — written and pubhshed for manifest pur- 
poses — it has been my intention to reply as soon as leisure 
from more important business would permit. 



288 LITE AND PUBLIC SEKTICES OF 

Your statement that the act of Congress ' ' to provide for 
the more efficient government of the rebel States " declares 
that whatever government existed in Texas was provisional ; 
that peace and order should be enforced ; that Texas should 
be part of the Fifth Military District, and subject to mili- 
tary power ; that the President should appoint an officer to 
command in said district, and detail a force to protect the 
rights of person and property, suppress insurrection and 
violence, and punish offenders, either by militar}^ commission 
or through the action of local civil tribunals, as in his judg- 
ment might seem best, will not be disputed. One need only 
read the act to perceive it contain such provisions. But how 
all this is supposed to have made it my duty to order the 
military commission requested, you have entirely failed to 
show. The power to do a thing, if shown, and the propriety 
of doing it, are often very different matters. You observe 
you are at a loss to understand how a government, without 
representation in Congress or a militia force, and subject to 
military power, can be said to be in the full exercise of all 
its proper powers. You do not reflect that this government, 
created or permitted by Congress has all the powers which 
the act intends, and may fully exercise them accordingly. If 
you think it ought to have more powers, should be allowed to 
send members to Congress, wield a militia force, and possess 
3'et other powers, your complaint is not to be preferred 
against me, but against Congress, who made it what it is. 

As respects the issue between us, any question as to what 
Congress ought to have done has no pertinence. You admit 
the act of Congress authorizes me to try an offender by mili- 
tary commission, or allow the local civil tribunals to try, as I 
shall deem best ; and you cannot deny the act expressly 
recognizes such local civil tribunals as legal authorities for 
the purpose specified. When you contend there are no legal 
local tribunals for an}' purpose in Texas, you must either 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 289 

deny the plain reading of the act of Congress or the power 
of Congress to pass the act. 

You next remark that you dissent from my declaration, 
*' that the country (Texas) is in a state of profound peace,'* 
and proceed to state the grounds of your dissent. Thcsy 
appear to me not a little extraortlinary. I quote your words : 
" It is true there no longer exists here (Texas) anj' organ- 
ized resistance to the authorit}^ of the United States." "But 
a large majorit}^ of the white population who participated in 
the late rebellion are embittered against the government, and 
yield to it an unwilling obedience." Nevertheless, you con- 
cede they do jield it obedience. You proceed : 

" None of this class have any affection for the government, 
and very few any respect for it. They regard the legislation 
of Congress on the subject of reconstruction as unconstitu- 
tional and hostile to their interests, and consider the govern- 
ment now existing here under authority of the United States 
as a usurpation on their rights. They look on the emanci- 
pation of their late slaves and the disfranchisement of a 
portion of their own class as an act of insult and oppression." 

And this is all you have to present for proof that war and 
not peace prevails in Texas ; and hence it becomes my duty 
— so 3'ou suppose — to set aside the local civil tribunals, and 
enforce the penal code against citizens by means of military 
commissions. 

My dear sir, I am not a lawyer, nor has it been my busi- 
ness, as it may have been yours, to study the philosophy of 
statecraft and politics. But I may lay claim, after an expe- 
rience of more than half a lifetime, to some poor knowledge 
of men, and some appreciation of what is necessary to social 
order and happiness. And for the future of our common 
country, I could devoutly wish that no great number of our 
people have yet fallen in with the views you appear to entertain. 
Woe be to us whenever it shall come to pass that the power 



290 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

of the magistrate — ci^dl or militar}^ — is permitted to deal 
with the mere opinions or feelings of the people. 

I have been accustomed to believe that sentiments of 
respect or disrespect, and feelings of affection, love, or 
hatred, so long as not developed into acts in violation of law, 
wtre matters wholly bej^ond the punitory power of human 
tribunals. 

I will maintain that the entire freedom of thought and 
speech, however acrimoniously indulged, is consistent with 
the noblest aspu'ations of man, and the happiest condition of 
his race. 

When a boy, I remember to have read a speech of Lord 
Chatham, delivered in Parliament. It was durmg our Revo- 
lutionary war, and related to the polic}' of employing sav- 
ages on the side of Britain. You may be more familiar with 
the speech than I am. If I am not greatl}' mistaken, his 
lordship denounced the British Government — his government 
— in terms of unmeasured bitterness. He characterized its 
policy as revolting to every sentiment of humanity and 
religion ; proclaimed it covered with disgrace, and vented his 
eternal abhorrence of it and its measures. It ma}', I think, 
be safel}'' asserted that a majority of the British nation con- 
curred in the views of Lord Chatham. But whoever sup- 
posed that profound peace was not existing in that kingdom, 
or that government had any authorit}' to question the absolute 
right of the opposition to express their objections to the pro- 
priety of the king's measures in an}' words or to an}' extent they 
pleased ? It would be difficult to show that the opponents of 
th(i government in the days of the elder Adams, or Jefferson, 
or Jackson, exhibited for it either '' affection" or '* respect.'* 
Your are conversant with the history of our past parties and 
political struggles touching legislation on alienage, sedition, 
the embargo, national banks, our wars with England and 
Mexico, and cannot be ignorant of the fact, that for one 



WTNTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 291 

party to assert that a law or system of legislation is unconsti- 
tutional, oppressive, and usurpative, is not a new thing in the 
United States. That the people of Texas consider acts of 
Congi'css unconstitutional, oppressive, or insulting to them, 
is of no consequence to the matter in hand. The Prcsicient 
of the United States has announced his opinion that these 
acts of Congress are unconstitutional. The Supreme Court, 
as you are aware, not long ago decided unanimouslj' that a 
certain military commission was unconstitutional. Our peo- 
ple ever3'where, in every State, without reference to the side 
they took diuring the Rebellion, differ as to the constitution- 
ality of these acts of Congress. How the matter really is, 
neither 3'ou nor I may dogmatically affirm. 

If you deem them constitutional laws, and beneficial to the 
countr}', you not only have the right to publish 3'our opinions, 
but it might be j^our bounden dut}' as a citizen to do so. Not 
less is it the privilege and duty of any and every citizen, 
wherever residing, to publish his opinion freely and fearlessly 
on this and every question which he thinks concerns his 
interest. This is merely in accordance with the principles of 
our free government ; and neither you nor I would wish to 
live under any other. It is time now, at the end of almost 
two years from the close of the war, we should begin to recol- 
lect what manner of people we are ; to tolerate again free, 
popular discussion, and extend some forbearance and con- 
sideration to opposing views. The maxims that in all intel- 
lectual contests truth is mighty and must prevail, and that 
error is harmless when reason is left free to combat it, are 
not only sound, but salutary. It is a poor compliment to the 
merits of such a cause, that its advocates would silence oppo- 
sition by force ; and generally those only who are in the 
wrong will resort to this ungenerous means. I am confident 
you will not commit your serious judgment to the proposition 
that any amount of discussion, or any sort of opinions, how- 



292 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

ever unwise in your judgment, or any assertion of feeling, 
however resentful or bitter, not resulting in a breach of law, 
can furnish justification for 3'oui' denial that profound peace 
exists in Texas. You might as well deny that profound peace 
exists in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, California, 
Ohio and Kentucky, where a majority of people differ with a 
minority on these questions ; or that profound peace exists in 
the House of Representatives or the Senate at Washington, 
or in the Supreme Court, where all these questions have been 
repeatedly discussed, and parties respectfully and patiently 
heard. You next complain that in parts of the State (Texas) 
it is difficult to enforce the criminal laws ; that sheriffs fail to 
arrest ; that grand jurors will not always indict ; that in some 
cases the military, acting in aid of the civil authorities, have 
not been able to execute the process of the courts ; that petit 
jurors have acquitted persons adjudged guilt}* by 3"ou ; and 
that other persons charged with offences have broke jail and 
fled from prosecution. I know not how these things are ; but 
admitting 3*our representations literall}'' true, if for such 
reasons I should set aside the local civil tribunals and order a 
military' commission, there is no place in the United States 
where it might not be done with equal propriet}'. There is not a 
State in the Union — North or South — where the like facts are 
not continually happening. Perfection is not to be predicated 
of man or his works. No one can rcasonabl}* expect certain and 
absolute justice in human transactions ; and if military power is 
to be set in motion, on the principles for which 3'ou would 
seem to contend, I fear that a civil government, regulated by 
laws, could have no abiding place beneath the circuit of the 
sun. It is rather more than hinted in 3"our letter, that there 
is no local State government in Texas, and no local laws out- 
side of the acts of Congress, which I ought to respect ; and 
that I should undertake to protect the rights of persons and 
propert3' ^^^ ''^V ^"''^ ^^i/ ^^^ ^^ ^^ arbitrary manner. If such 



WINTIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 293 

be 3"0iir meaning, I am compelled to differ with 5^ou. After 
the abolition of slavery (an event which I hope no one now 
regrets) , the laws of Louisiana and Texas existing prior to the 
rebellion, and not in conflict with the acts of Congress, com- 
prised a vast system of jurisprudence, both civil and criminal. 
It required not volumes only, but libraries to contain them. 
They laid down principles and precedents for ascertainhig 
the rights and adjusting the controversies of men in every 
conceivable case. The}' were the creations of great and 
good and learned men, who had labored in their day for 
their kind, and gone down to the grave long before our recent 
troubles, lea\'ing their works an inestimable legacy to the 
human race. These laws, as I am informed, connected the 
civilization of past and present ages, and testified of the jus- 
tice, wisdom, humanity, and patriotism of more than one 
nation, through whose records they descended to the present 
people of these States. I am satisfied, from representations 
of persons competent to judge, they are as perfect a S3'^stem 
of laws as may be found elsewhere, and better suited than 
any other to the condition of this people, for by them they 
have long been governed. Why should it be supposed that 
Congress has abolished these laws ? Why should any one wish 
to abolish them? They have committed no treason, nor are 
hostile to the United States, nor countenance crime, nor favor 
injustice. On them, as on a foundation of rock, reposes 
almost the entire superstructure of social order in these tw^ 
States. Annul this code of local laws, and there would be 
no longer any rights, either of person or property, here. Abol- 
ish the local civil tribunals made to execute them, and 3'on 
would virtually annul the laws, except in reference to the very 
few cases cognizable in the Federal courts. Let us for a mo- 
ment suppose the whole local civil code annulled, and that I 
am left, as commander of the Fifth Mihtary District, the sole 
fountain of law and justice. This is the position in which 
you would place me. 



294 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

I am now to protect all rights and redress all wrongs. 
How is it possible for me to do it? Innumerable questions 
arise, of which I am not only ignorant, but to the solution of 
which a military court is entirely unfitted. One would estab- 
lish a will, another a deed ; or the question is one of succes- 
sion, or partnership, or descent, or trust ; a suit of ejectment 
or claim to chattels ; or the application ma}^ relate to robbery, 
theft, arson, or murder. How am I to take the first step in 
any such matter? If I turn to the acts of Congress I find 
nothing on the subject. I dare not open the authors on the 
local code, for it has ceased to exist. 

And 3'ou tell me that in this perplexing condition I am to 
furnish, by dint of my own hast}^ and crude judgment, the 
legislation demanded b}^ the vast and manifold interests of 
the people ! I repeat, sir, that 3'^ou, and not Congress, are 
responsible for the monstrous suggestion that there are no 
local laws or institutions here to be respected by me, outside 
the acts of Congress. I say unhesitatingly, if it were pos- 
sible that Congress should pass an act abolishing the local 
codes for Louisiana and Texas — which I do not believe — and 
it should fall to my lot to supply their places with something 
of my own, I do not see how I could do better than follow 
the laws in force here prior to the Rebellion, excepting what- 
ever therein shall relate to slavery. Power may destro}' the 
fonns, but not the principles of justice ; these will live in 
spite even of the sword. History tells us that the Roman 
pandects were lost for a long period among the rubbish that 
war and revolution had heaped upon them ; bat at length were 
dug out of the ruins, again to be regarded as a precious 
treasure. 

You are pleased to state that "since the publication of 
(m}') general orders No. 40, there has been a perceptible 
increase of crime and manifestations of hostile feeling toward 
the Government and its supporters," and add that it is " an 



WINFIELD SCOTT nA^'COCK. 295 

unpleasant duty to give such a recital of the condition of the 
country." 

You wdll permit me to say that I deem it impossible the 
first of these statements can be true, and that I do very 
greatlj' doubt the correctness of the second. General orders 
No. 40 was issued at New Orleans, Nov. 29, 18G7, and your 
letter was dated Jan. 17, 18G8. Allowing time for order No. 
40 to reach Texas and become generally known, some addi- 
tional time must have elapsed before its effect would be mani- 
fested, and 3'et a further time must transpire before 3'ou would 
be able to collect the evidence of what 30U term ' ' the condi- 
tion of the country ;" and 3^et, after all this, you would have 
to make the necessary investigations to ascertain if order No. 
40, or something else, was the cause. The time, therefore, 
remaining to enable 3'ou, before the 17th of Januar}", 1868, 
to reach a satisfactory conclusion on so delicate and nice a 
question must have been very short. How 3'OU proceeded ; 
whether 3'OU investigated 3'ourself or through third persons ; 
and if so, who they were, what their competency and fair- 
ness ; on what evidence 3'ou rested 3'our conclusion, or whether 
3'OU ascertained an3^ facts at all, are points upon which 3'our 
letter so discreetly omits all mention, that I ma3' well be ex- 
cused for not rel3'ing implicitl3^ upon it ; nor is m3' difricult3' 
diminished b3' the fact that in another part of 3'our letter 3'OU 
state that ever since the close of the war a very large portion 
of the people have had no affection for the Government, but 
bitterness of feeling onl3'. Had the dut3' of publishing and 
circulating through the countr3^ long before it reached me, 
3'Our statement that the action of the district commander was 
increasing crime and hostile feeling against the Government, 
been less painful to 3'our sensibilities, it might possibl3' have 
0( eurred to 3-ou to furnish something on the subject in addi- 
tion to 3'our bare assertion. 

But what was order No. 40, and how could it have the 



296 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

effect you attribute to it? It sets forth that "the great prin- 
ciples of American libert}^ are still the inheritance of this 
people and ever should be ; that the right of trial by jury, the 
habeas corpus, the liberty of the press, the freedom of speech, 
and the natural rights of persons and property must be pre- 
served." Will you question the truth of these declarations? 
Which one of these great principles of libert}^ are you ready 
to deny and repudiate ? Whoever does so avows himself the 
enemy of human liberty and the advocate of despotism. 
Was there any intimation in general orders No. 40 that any 
crimes or breaches of law would be countenanced ? You 
know that there was not. On the conti'ary, jon know per- 
fectly well that while '' the consideration of crime and 
offences committed in the Fifth Military District was referred 
to the judgment of the regular civil tribunals," a pledge was 
given in order No. 40, which all understood, that tribunals 
would be supported in their lawful jurisdiction, and that 
'' forcible resistance to law would be instantly suppressed by 
arms." You will not affirm that this pledge has ever been 
forfeited. There has not been a moment since I have been 
in command of the Fifth Disti'ict, when the whole military 
force in my hands has not been ready to- support the civil 
authorities of Texas in the execution of the laws. And I am 
unwilling to believe they would refuse to call for aid if they 
needed it. 

There are some considerations which, it seems to me, 
Bhould cause you to hesitate before indulging in wholesale 
censures against the civil authorities of Texas. You are 
yourself the chief of these authorities ; not elected b}^ the peo- 
ple, but created by the militar3\ Not long after 3'ou had th .s 
come into office, all the judges of the Supreme Court of 
Texas — live in number — were removed from office, and new 
appointments made ; twelve of the seventeen district judges 
were removed and others appointed. County officei's, more 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 297 

or less, in seventy-five out of one hundred and twenty-eiglit 
counties, were removed, and others appointed in their places. 
It is fair to conclude that the executive and judicial civil 
functionaries in Texas are the persons whom 3'ou desired to 
fill the offices. It is proper to mention, also, that none but 
registered citizens, and only those who could take the test 
oath, have been allowed to serve as jurors during your admin- 
istration. Now, it is against the local government, created 
by military power prior to my coming here, and so composed 
of 3'our personal and political friends, that you have preferred 
the most grievous complaints. It is of them that 3^ou have 
asserted they will not do their duty ; they will not maintain 
justice ; will not arrest offenders ; will not punish crimes ; 
and that out of one hundred homicides committed in the last 
twelve months, not over ten arrests have been made ; and by 
means of such gi'oss disregard of dut}^, 3'ou declare that 
neither property nor life is safe in Texas. 

Certainly you could have said nothing more to the discredit 
of the officials who are now in office. If the facts be as 3^ou 
allege, a mystery' is presented for which I can imagine no ex 
planation. Wh}" is it that your political friends, backed up 
and sustained b}' the whole militar}^ of the United States in 
this district, should be unwilling to enforce the laws agair^t 
that part of the population lately in rebellion, and whom you 
represent as the offenders ? In all the history of these trou- 
bles, I have never seen or heard before of such a fact. I re- 
peat, if the fact be so, it is a profound mj^ster}^, utterly sur- 
passing m}' comprehension. I am constrained to declare that 
I believe you are in verj^ great error as to facts. On careful 
examination at the proper source, I find that, at the date of 
your letter, four cases only of homicides had been reported to 
these headquarters as having occurred since Nov. 29, 1867, 
the date of order 40, and these cases were ordered to be 
tried or investisjated as soon as the reports were received. 



298 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

However, the fact of one hundred homicides may still be cor- 
rect, as stated b}^ you. The Freednien's Bureau in Texas 
reported one hundred and sixty ; how many of these were by 
Indians and Mexicans, and how the remainder were classified, 
is not known, nor is it known whether these data are ac- 
curate. 

The report of the commanding officer of the District of 
Texas shows that since I assumed command no applications 
have been made to him by you for the arrest of criminals in 
the State of Texas. 

To this date eighteen cases of homicides have been reported 
to me as having occurred since Nov. 29, 18G7, although 
special instructions had been given to report such cases as 
they occur. Of these, five were committed Ijy Indians, one 
by a Mexican, one by an insane man, three by colored men, 
two of women by their husbands, and of the remainder, some 
by parties unknown — all of which could be scarcely attribut- 
able to order No. 40. If the reports received since the 
issuing of order No. 40 are correct, they exhibit no increase 
of homicides in m}' time, if 5'ou are correct that one hundred 
had occurred in the past twelve months. 

That there has not been a perfect administration of justice 
in Texas I am not prepared to denj'. 

That there has been no such wanton disregard of dut}^ on 
the part of officials as 3'ou allege, I am well satisfied. A 
very little while ago 3''ou regarded the present officials in 
Texas the only ones who could be safely trusted with power. 
Now you pronounce them worthless, and would cast them 
aside. 

I have found little else in your letter but indications of 
temper, lashed into excitement by causes which I deem 
mostly imaginar}', a great confidence in the accurac}' of 3'our 
own opinions, and an intolerance of the opinions of others. 
a desire to punish the thoughts and feelings of those who 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 299 

differ from you, and an impatience which magnifies the short- 
comings of officials who are perhaps as earnest and conscien- 
tious in the discharge of their duties as yourself, and a m.ost 
unsound conclusion that while an}' persons are to be found 
wanting in affection or respect for government, or yielding it 
obedience from motives which 3^ou do not approve, war, and 
not peace, is the status, and all such persons are the proper 
subjects for military penal jurisdiction. 

If 1 have written an3^tliing to disabuse your mind of so 
grave an error, I shall be gratified. 

I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. S. Hancock, 
Major-General Commanding. 

But all this time General Hancock's action was inter- 
fering, not only with the Governors of Louisiana and 
Texas and their satellites, but with purposes of the 
Republican majority in Congress. A presidential elec- 
tion was approaching, and it was a party necessity that 
the vote of the Southern States should be secured for 
the Republican candidate. To elect a Republican Presi- 
dent and retain possession of Congress, it was necessary 
that the South should remain under militar}^ rule, and 
that the conduct of the elections should be absolutely in 
the hands of that party. 

To allow Hancock's plan of constitutional and legal 
government to be carried out, and the Southern States 
rehabilitated so far that the ballot should be free, and 
the votes of their people counted in determining the 
result, would be fatal to this scheme. Hence it was 
decreed that Hancock must go. But the President had 
appointed .him, and the President alone could remove 



300 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

him. So it must be accomplished by indirection. The 
first plan was to pass a bill reducing the number of 
major-generals in the regular army, which would 
degrade Hancock, since his commission to that rank was 
dated 1866. A bill was introduced to this effect; but 
the prospect of a tremendous popular reaction against 
its authors terrified them, and it was dropped. 

A quieter scheme was then concocted. The first step 
w^as, by act of Congress, to place in the hands of tlie Gen- 
eral of the army unusual powers, exceeding those of 
the President, in regard to the administration of the 
military governments of the South. The next was for 
the General to use these powers in interference with 
General Hancock's direction of affairs in his district in 
such a manner as to cripple his authority and, in fact, 
place him in a humiliating position. 

About this time General Hancock w^rote to a friend 
in Congress : " I hope to be relieved here soon. The 
President is no longer able to protect me. So that I 
may expect one humiliation after another until I am 
forced to resign. I am prepared for any event. Noth- 
inir can intimidate me from doirn^ what I believe to be 
honest and risfht." 

General Hancock applied to be relieved from his 
command on the 27th of February, 18G8. 



WnSTFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 301 



CHAPTER IX. 

General Hancock's Patriotism. — He is sought to lead the Democratic 
Party. — The National Convention of 1868. — Tilden's Nomina- 
tion in 1876. — Hancock's Letter on the Electoral Contest. — The 
Cincinnati Convention. — Hancock nominated unanimously. — 
The Campaign. — Garfield's Election. 

It is pleasing to note with what consistent patriotism 
General Hancock performed his duties to his country. 
With him the Democratic sentiment was not a flicker- 
ing flame, blown hither and thither with every breath 
of circumstance or interest. It was a steady light, illu- 
mining his path at every step, and making it impossible 
for him to go astray. 

In every situation we find him the same loyal, deter- 
mined champion of the rights of a free people under a 
free government. Thus, when he was captain and 
quartermaster at Los Angeles, at the outbreak of the 
war, before the news of actual secession had reached 
that distant point, he declared himself promptly and 
unflinchingly on the side of the Union ; and in a speech 
made on the 4th of July, 1861, he said : — 

'' Who of us can forget the names of Lexington, of Mon- 
mouth, of Brandy wine and Yorktown, and who can forget 
that he is a descendant of those who fought there for the 
liberties we now enjoy ? And what flag is it that we now 
look to as the banner that carried us through the great con- 
test, and was honored by the gallant deeds of its defenders ? 



802 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

The star-spangled banner of America, then embracing thirteen 
pale stars, representing that number of oppressed colonies. 
Now, thirty-four bright planets, representing that number of 
great States. To be sure, clouds intervene between us and 
eleven of that number ; but we will trust that those clouds 
may soon be dispelled, and that those great stars in the 
southern constellation may shine forth again with even 
greater splendor than before. 

''Let us believe, at least let us trust, that our brothers 
there do not wish to separate themselves permanently from 
the common memories which have so long bound us together, 
but that when reason returns and resumes her sway they will 
prefer the brighter page of history which our mutual deeds 
have inscribed upon the tablets of time, to that of the uncer- 
tain future of a new confederation, which, alas ! to them may 
prove illusory and unsatisfactory. 

" Let tliem return to us. We will welcome them as broth- 
ers who have been estranged, but have come back. We have 
an interest in the battle-fields of the Revolution in those 
States not second to their own. Our forefathers fought 
there side by side with theirs. Can they, if they would, 
throw aside their rights to the memories of the great fields 
on our soil on which their ancestors won renown ? No, they 
cannot ! God forbid that they should desire it. To those 
who, regardless of these sacred memories, insist on sundering 
this union of States, let us who only wish our birthrights pre- 
served to us, and whose desire it is to be still citizens of this 
great country that gave us birth, and to live under the flag 
which has gained for us the glory we boast of, say this day, 
to those among us who feel aggrieved : Your rights we will 
respect ; your wrongs we will assist you to redress ; but the 
government resulting from the union of these States is a 
priceless heritage that we intend to preserve and defend to 
the last extremity." 



WINFIELD SCOTT HAKCOCK. 803 

It was Hancock's unswerving loyalty, his brilliant 
military career, and the remarkable strength of charac- 
•ter which he showed when in command of the district 
comprising Louisiana and Texas, that commended him 
to the national Democratic party as its candidate for 
President. 

The ideas of constitutional reconstruction which he 
proclaimed when in that command were, indeed, the 
very principles for which that party was contending in 
Congress and throughout the country, as against the 
method of reconstruction through military rule and 
the disfranchisement of the men lately in rebellion, 
which the party in power was pursuing. He was, in 
fact, of all the major-generals in the army, the only one 
who had ventured to oppose the purposes of the Repub- 
lican majority in Congress, to refuse to exercise the 
absolute power given him by the reconstruction acts, 
and to subordinate the military arm to civil authority. 
He had shown by his acts, as well as by his words, that 
he fully believed in the reconstruction of the Union 
by constitutional means rather than by force ; and 
this was the end for which the Democracy was con- 
tending. 

Even before he resigned the command of the Fifth 
Military District his name had been mentioned as that 
of a fit candidate for the Presidency; and when the 
Convention met in New York City, July 4, 1868, he 
had many enthusiastic supporters in that body. The 
meeting of the Convention was held in Tammany Hall, 
ex-Governor Horatio Sej^mour presiding. Two days 
were occupied in organization; and upon the third day, 
July 7, the States were first called for the presentation 



304 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

of candidates. When Maine was reached, General 
Samuel J. Anderson presented the name of Hancock in 
a speech, in which he described him thus : — 

"A man who, by nature gifted with a broad, comprehen- 
sive, and discriminating intellect, educated in a school which 
taught him that the government was instituted to afford to 
its citizens the great cardinal rights of personal liberty, per- 
sonal security, and the right to acquire and enjoy property, 
stood there and interposed between the operations of the 
military government and the people who had been outraged 
and oppressed, the law that should accord to them those 
rights ; a gentleman who, on another field, was one of the 
brave men in command of troops in the late contest, and 
united within himself the attributes of lion-hearted courage 
and great magnanimity ; who fought well for the nation 
which placed him in command, but held forth the hand of 
mercy to the enemy when brought beneath his arms ; a man 
who, ever foremost in the fight, held the plume aloft, which, 
like the helmet of Navarre, was alwa3'S the oriflamme under 
which his troops went on either to honorable death or glo- 
rious victor3\ With these words it would seem almost su- 
perfluous to give the name ; but I will nominate General 
AVinfield Scott Hancock." 

General Hancock's nomination was received with 
great cheers, and the balloting began. On the first 
ballot Pendleton led with 105 votes (each delegate 
casting half a vote), and Hancock stood next on the 
list with 33^. It was a long and weary balloting, ex- 
tending into the following day with the relative posi- 
tion of the leadin"^ candidates but little chano^ed. On 
the fifteenth ballot, however, the chairman of the Penn- 
sylvania delegation announced that, having voted up to 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 305 

that time for Hon. Asa Packer, the vote of the State 
would then be thrown for General Hancock. From 
that point onward General Hancock stood at the head 
of the poll, on the eighteenth ballot receiving 144^ 
votes, or nearly a majority. 

It was at length proved to the satisfaction of all the 
delegates that the necessary two-thirds vote could not 
be secured for any candidate then before the Conven- 
tion, and on the twenty-second ballot ex-Governor Sey- 
mour was nominated. 

It is a singular coincidence that both General Sey- 
mour and General Hancock should live to see a Demo- 
cratic administration chosen by the people^ and should 
both die within the same week. 

General Grant's re-election followed. During this ad- 
ministration General Hancock passed three years in com- 
mand of the Department of Dakota, quietly performing 
the duties of his office, and taking no part in public life. 
In 1876, when his name was again presented for the 
consideration of the National Democratic Convention as 
a candidate for the Presidency, he had been transferred 
back to the Department of the Atlantic* 

The Convention met at St. Louis, Jan. 27, 1876, Gen- 
eral John A. McClernand of Illinois presiding. This 
time it was his own State of Pennsylvania which pro- 
posed Hancock. Hon. Heister Clymer presented his 
name, saying: — 

' ' I am charged by the delegation from the State of Penn- 
sylvania, representing three hundred and twenty-five thou- 
sand Democrats, to present in their name, and by their 
authority, as their unanimous choice for the highest elective 
office on earth, the name of one born on their soil and dear 



306 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

to their hearts ; the name of oue whose character is the em- 
bodiment of all that is chivalrous in manhood and excellent 
in morals ; the name of one who never drew his sword save 
in defence of his country' 's honor, or in obedience to her 
laws ; the name of one who, in the horn' of supreme victory, 
never forgot a common brotherhood ; the name of one who, 
although the very exemplar of grim-visaged war, is 3-et the 
sincerest and lowliest devotee of the Constitution and the 
law ; the bame of one who, in the plenitude of military pow- 
er, when dishonored, dismembered, and dismantled States 
were placed in his absolute sway, declared that the liberty 
of the press, the habeas corpus, the right of trial by jnr}^, 
the right of persons and of property, must be maintained ; 
the name of one whose fame and reputation are true to every 
American citizen of whatever race or color, party or creed — 
the name of Winfield Scott Hancock." 

At the first ballot General Hancock's name stood 
third on the list, receiving 75 votes ; and on the second 
ballot ex-Governor Samuel A. Tilden was nominated. 

The result of the election in the following November, 
when, by tlie machinations of the party in power at 
Washington, the votes of Louisiana, South Carolina, and 
Florida were falsified and discredited, and the country 
seemed on the point of again plunging into civil strife, 
marks a dark page in our history. General Hancock's 
attitude throughout this troublous season was character- 
istic. He had firm faith in the people and in the laws; 
and in a letter to General Sherman, with whom he was 
in correspondence during all this time of excitement, he 
gives his views at length. This letter is of such impor- 
tance that it is presented entire : — 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 807 

Carondelet p. O., St. Louis, Mo., Dec. 28, 1876. 

My dear General : — Your favor on the 4tli iiist. reached 
me in New York on the 5th. The clay before I left for the 
West I intended to reply to it, but cares incident to departure 
interfered. Then again, since my arrival here, I have been 
so occupied with affairs of a business nature, that I have 
deferred writing from day to day until this moment, and now 
I find myself in debt to you another letter in acknowledgment 
of your favor of the 17th, received a few days since. AVhen 
I heard the rumor that I was ordered to the Pacific coast, I 
thought it probably true, considering the past discussion of 
that subject. The possibilities seemed to me to point that 
way. Had it been true, I should, of course, have presented 
no complaint, nor made resistance of any kind. I would 
have gone quickly, if not prepared to go promptly. I cer- 
tainly would have been relieved from the responsibilities and 
anxieties concerning presidential matters, which may fall to 
those near the throne or in authority, within the next four 
months, as well as from other incidents or matters which I 
could not control, and the action concernincr which I mioht 
not approve. I was not exactly prepared to go to the Pacific, 
however, and I therefore felt relieved when I received your 
note informing me there was no truth in the rumors. 

The whole matter of the presidency seems to me to be sim- 
ple, and to admit of a peaceful solution. The machinery for 
such a contingency as threatens to present itself has been all 
carefully prepared. It only requires lubrication, owing to 
disuse. 

The army should have nothing to do with the election or 
inauguration of presidents. The people elect the president : 
Congress declares in joint session who he is. We of the 
army have only to obey his mandates, and are protected in so 
doing only so far as they may be lawful. Our commissions 
express that. I like Jefferson's way of inauguration. Ho 



308 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

inaugurated himself simply by taking the oath of office. 
There is no other legal inauguration in our system. The 
people or politicians may institute parades in honor of the 
event, and public officials may add to the pageant by assem- 
bling troops and banners ; but all that only comes properly 
after the inauguration, not before, and it is not a part 
of it. 

Our system does not provide that one president should 
inaugurate another. There might be danger in that, and it 
was studiously left out of the charter ; but you are placed in 
an exceptionally important position in connection with coming 
events. The capital is in my jurisdiction also ; but I am a 
subordinate and not on the spot, and if I were so, there also 
would be my superior in authority, for there is the station of 
the general-in-chief . On the princi[)le that a regularly elected 
president's term of office expires with the od of March (of 
which I have not the slightest doubt) , and which the laws 
bearing on the subject uniformly recognize, and, in considera- 
tion of a possibility that the lawfully elected president may 
not appear until the 5th of March, a great deal of responsi- 
bility may necessarily fall upon you. You hold over. You 
will have power and prestige to support you. The secretary 
of war, too, probably holds over ; but, if no president ap- 
pears, he may not be able to exercise his functions in the 
name of a president, for his proper acts are those of a known 
superior — a lawful president. You act on your own respon- 
sibility, and by virtue of 3'our commission, only restricted by 
the law. The secretary of war is the mouthpiece of a presi- 
dent. You are not. 

If neither candidate has the constitutional majority of the 
electoral college, or the Senate and House, on the occasion 
of the count, do not unite in declaring some person legally 
elected by the people, there is a lawful machinery already 
provided to meet that contingency and to decide the question 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 309 

peacefully. It has not been recently used, no occasion pre- 
senting itself ; but our forefathers provided it. It has been 
exercised and recognized and submitted to as lawful on every 
hand. That machinery would probably elect Mr. Tilden 
president, and Mr. Wheeler vice-president. That would be 
right enough, for the law provides that in a failure to elect 
duly by the people the House shall immediately choose the 
president, and the Senate the vice-president. 

Some tribunal must decide whether the people have duly 
elected a president. I presume, of course, it is in the joint 
affirmative action of the Senate and House ; or why are they 
present to witness the count, if not to see that it is fair and 
just? If a failure to agree arises between the two bodies, 
there can be no lawful affirmative decision that the people 
have elected a president, and the House must then proceed 
to act. Not the Senate. The Senate elects vice-presidents, 
not presidents. Doubtless, in case of the failure of the 
House to elect a president by the 4th of March, the president 
of the Senate (if there be one) would be the legitimate per- 
son to exercise presidential authority for the time being, or 
until the appearance of the lawful president, or for the time 
laid down in the Constitution. 

Such a course would be peaceful, and, I have a firm belief, 
lawful. I have no doubt Governor Ha^^es would make an 
excellent president. I have met him and know of him. For 
a brief period he served under my command ; but as the mat- 
ter stands I cannot see any likelihood of his being duly 
declared elected by the people, unless the Senate and House 
come to be in accord as to that fact, and the House would, of 
course, not otherwise elect him. 

What the people want is a peaceful determination of this 
matter, — as fair a determination as possible, and a lawful 
one ; no other determination could stand the test. The 
country, if not plunged in revolution, would become poorer 



310 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

da}^ by day ; business would languish, and our bonds would 
come home to find a depreciated market. 

I was not in favor of military action in South Carolina 
recently, and if General Ruger had telegraphed home, or 
asked for advice, I would have advised him not, under any 
circumstances, to allow himself or his troops to determine who 
were the lawful members of the State legislature. I could not 
have given him better advice than to refer him to the special 
message of the president in the case of Louisiana some time 
before. But in South Carolina he had the question settled 
by a decision of the Supreme Court of the State, the highest 
tribunal which had acted on the question, so that his line of 
duty seemed even to be clearer than in the action in the 
Louisiana case. If the federal court had interfered and 
overruled the decision of the State court, there might have 
been a doubt, certainly ; but the federal court only inter- 
fered to complicate, not to decide or overrule. 

Anyhow, it is no business of the army to enter upon such 
questions ; and even if it might be so in any event, if the 
civil authority is as supreme as the Constitution declares it 
to be, the South Carolina case was one in which the armv 
had a plain duty. Had General Ruger asked me for advice, 
and if 1 had given it, I should of course have notified you of 
my action immediately, so that it could have been promptly 
overruled, if it should have been deemed advisable by you or 
other superior authority. General Ruger did not ask for my 
advice, and I inferred from that, and other facts, that he did 
not desire it, or that, being in direct communication with m}' 
military superiors, at the seat of government, who were 
nearer to him in time and distance than I was, he deemed it 
unnecessary. As General Ruger had the ultimate responsi- 
bility of the action, and had really the greater danger to 
confront in the final action in the matter, I did not venture 
to embarrass him by suggestions. 



"WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 311 

As I have been writing thus freel}' to you, I may still 
further unbosom myself by stating that I have not thought 
it lawful or wise to use federal troops in such matters as 
have transpired east of the Mississippi within the last few 
months, save so far as they may be brought into action 
under the article of the Constitution which contemplates the 
meeting of armed resistance, or the invasion of a State more 
powerful than the State authorities can subdue by ordinary 
process, and then only when requested by the Legislature, 
or, if it could not be convened in session, by the governor ; 
and when the president of the United States intervenes in 
that manner, it is in a state of war, not of peace. 

The army is laboring under disadvantages, and has been 
used unlawfully at times, in the judgment of the people (in 
mine certainly) , and we have lost a great deal of kindlj* feel- 
ing which the community at large once felt for us. " It is 
time to stop and unload." Officers in command of troops 
often find it difficult to act wisely and safeh', when their 
superiors in authorit}' have different views of the law from 
theirs, and when legislation has sanctioned action seemingly 
in conflict with the fundamental law, and they generallj' de- 
fer to the known judgment of their superiors. Yet the su- 
perior officers of the army are so regarded in such a great 
crisis, and are held to such responsibility, especiall}^ those at 
or near the head of it, that it is necessary on such momen- 
tous occasions to dare to determine for themselves what is 
lawful and what is not lawful under our system, if the mili- 
tary authorities should be invoked, as might possibly be the 
case in such exceptionable times, when there existed such 
divergent views as to the correct result. The arm}' will suf- 
fer from its past actions if it has acted wrongfully. Our 
regular arm}' has little hold upon the affections of the people 
of to-day, and its superior officers should certainly, as far as 
lies in their power, legally, and with righteous intent, aim to 



312 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

defend the right, which to us is the law, and the institution 
whicli they represent. It is a well-meaning institution, and 
it would be well if it should have an opportunity to be rec- 
ognized as a bulwark in support of the rights of the people 
and of the law, 

I ain, truly yours, 

WiNFiELD S. Hancock. 

On the Gtli of January, 1877, when the electoral com- 
mission was proposedj General Hancoek w^'ote to Gen- 
eral Sherman, — 

*' The proposition for the joint committee insures a peace- 
ful solution of the presidential questions if it becomes a law, 
and, in my opinion, gives Governor Hayes chances he did 
not have before. I have considered that Mr. Tilden's chances 
were impregnable ; not so Mr. Hendricks's. Now, it seems 
to me that Governor Hayes has something more than an 
equal chance ; but the definite results cannot be foreshadowed. 
Fortunately, trouble need not be provided against by the use 
of the army, should the bill become a law- If the bill passes 
and General Grant vetoes it, Mr. Tilden's chances will be 
stronger than before, certainly, if he and his friends sup- 
ported the measure. Public opinion will strengthen his 
position. The danger in the compromise question or joint 
committee plan is, that the defeated candidate might appeal 
to the supreme court op grounds of illegal (unconstitutional) 
decisions." 

In reply, General Sherman wrote, in effect, that he 
thought the danger was over. He said, — 

*'The passage of the bill for counting the electoral vote, 
approved by the President, ends, in my judgment, all possi- 
ble danger of confusion or disorder in connection with the 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 313 

presidential imbrogliQ. I feel certain tliat tlie dual govern- 
ments in South Carolina and Louisiana will be decided by 
the same means which determines who is to be the next 
President of the United States.'* 

Four years later, at Cincinnati, General Hancock 
received the Democratic nomination. The Convention 
met at Cincinnati, June 22, 1880, Hon. John W. Ste- 
venson of Kentucky presiding. Daniel Doherty, the 
eloquent Philadelphian, presented his name in a glow- 
ing speech. He said, ^ 

*'I present to the thoughtful consideration of the Conven^ 
tion the name of one who, on the field of battle, was styled 
*the superb,' yet won still nobler renown as the Military 
Governor whose first act, in assuming command in Louisiana 
and Texas, was to salute the Constitution by proclaiming, 
amid the joyous greetings of an oppressed people, that the 
military, save in actual war, shall be subservient to the civil 
power. 

''The plighted word of the soldier was proved in the deeds 
of the statesman. 

"I name one who, if nominated, will suppress every fac- 
tion, and be alike acceptable to the North and to the South ; 
whose nomiqation will thrill the land from end to end, crush 
the embers of sectional strife, and be hailed as the dawning 
of the longed-for day of perpetual brotherhood. 

"With him we can fling away our shields and wage ag- 
gressive war. With him as our chieftain the bloody banner 
of the Republicans will fall from their palsied grasp. We 
can appeal to the supreme tribunal of the American people 
against the corruptions of the Republican party and its 
untold violations of constitutional liberty. 

"Oh! my countrymen, in this supreme moment, the des- 



314 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

tinies of the Republic, the imperilled liberties of the people, 
bang breathless on your deliberations. Pause ! reflect ! 
beware ! take no misstep. 

"I nominate him who can carry every Southern State; 
can carry Pennsylvania, Indiana, Connecticut, New Jersey, 
and New York. The soldier-statesman, with a record stain- 
less as his sword. I nominate Winfield Scott Hancock of 
Pennsylvania. If elected he will take his seat.'* 

The Convention had but one ballot that day ; and 
Hancock's name was at tlie head of the list, with 171 
votes. 

Then the Convention adjourned. When it met in the 
third day's session, Thursday, June 21, Mr. Tilden's 
name was withdrawn by the New York delegation, and 
a ballot was at once taken. When the clerk had 
reached Illinois in the call for States, the tide of ballot- 
ing was seen to set strongly toward Hancock, and from 
that moment to the close there were no votes but for 
the favorite. 

The nomination was made unanimous amid a scene of 
enthusiasm such as the oldest veterans of Democratic 
conventions had never seen. Then came the speeches 
of ratification and congratulation. The factions of the 
New York Democracy publicly proclaimed their rec- 
onciliation, and on all sides there were eager voices 
indorsing the candidacy of the hero-statesman. Gen- 
eral Hancock formally accepted the nomination in the 
following letter, in which, it will be observed, he an- 
ticipated the declaration, afterwards made famous by 
President Cleveland, that "pubUc office is a public 
trust." 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 315 

Governor's Island, 
New York City, July, 29, 1880. 

Gentlemen : — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt 
of your letter of July 13, 1880, apprising me formally of my 
nomination to the office of President of the United States by 
the National Democratic Convention, lately assembled in 
Cincinnati. I accept the nomination with grateful apprecia- 
tion of the confidence reposed in me. The principles enun- 
ciated by the Convention are those I have cherished in the 
past, and shall endeavor to maintain in the future. The 
thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments to the Con- 
stitution of the United States, embodying the results of the 
war for the Union, are inviolable. If called to the Presidency, 
I should deem it my duty to resist, with all of my power, any 
attempt to impair or impede the full force and effect of the 
Constitution, which in every article, section, and amendment, 
is the supreme law of the land. The Constitution forms the 
basis of the government of the United States. The powers 
granted by it to the legislative, executive, and judicial depart- 
ments, define and limit the authority of the general govern- 
ment. Powers not delegated to the United States by the 
Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, belong to the 
States respectively, or to the people. The General and State 
governments, each acting in its own sphere without trenching 
upon the lawful jurisdiction of the other, constitute the Union. 
This Union, comprising a general government with general 
powers, and State governments with State powers for pur- 
poses local to the States, is a polity, the foundations of which 
were laid in the profoundest wisdom. This is the Union our 
fathers made, and which has been so respected abroad and 
so beneficent at home. Tried by blood and fire, it stands to- 
day a model form of free popular government ; a political 
system which, rightly administered, has been, and will con- 
tinue to be, the admu-ation of the world. May we not say, 



316 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

nearly in the words of Washington : '* The unity of govern- 
ment, which constitutes us one people, is justly dear to us ; 
it is the main pillar in the edifice of our real independence, 
the support of our peace, safety, and prosperity, and of that 
liberty we so highly prize, and intend at every hazard to pre- 
serve ' ' ? 

But no form of government, however carefully devised, no 
principles, however sound, will protect the rights of the peo- 
ple unless the administration is faithful and efficient. It is 
a vital principle in our system that neither fraud nor force 
must be allowed to subvert the rights of the people. When 
fraud, violence, or incompetence controls, the noblest constir 
tutions and wisest laws are useless. The bayonet is not a 
fit instrument for collecting the votes of freemen. It is only 
by a full vote, free ballot, and fair count, that the people 
can rule in fact, as required by the theory of our govern-r 
ment. Take this foundation away ar^d the whole structure 
falls. 

Public office is a trust, not a bounty bestowed upon the 
holder. No incompetent or dishonest persons should ever be 
entrusted with it, or, if appointed, they should be promptly 
ejected. The basis of a substantial, practical civil-service 
reform must first be established by the people iu filling the 
elective offices. If they fix a high standard of qualifications 
for office, and sternly reject the corrupt and incompetent, the 
result will be decisive in governing the action of the servants 
whom they entrust with the appointing power. 

The war for the Union was successfully closed more than 
fifteen years ago. All classes of our people must share alike 
in the blessings of the Union, and are equally concerned in 
its perpetuity and in the proper administration of public 
affairs. We are in a state of profound peace. Henceforth 
let it be our purpose to cultivate sentiments of friendship, and 
not of animosity, among our fellow-citizens. Our material 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 317 

interests, varied and progressive, demand our constant and 
united efforts. A sedulous and scrupulous care of the public 
credit, together with a wise and economical management of 
our governmental expenditures, should be maintained, in order 
that labor may be lightly burdened and that all persons may 
be protected in their rights to the fruits of their own industry. 
The time has come to enjoy the substantial benefits of recon- 
ciliation. As one people we have common interests. Let us 
encourage the harmony and generous rivalry among our own 
industries which will revive our languishing merchant marine, 
extend our commerce with foreign nations, assist our mer- 
chants, manufacturers, and producers to develop our vast 
natural resources, and increase the prosperity and happiness 
of our people. 

If elected, I shall, with the Divine favor, labor with what 
ability I possess to discharge my duties with fidelity, accord- 
ing to my convictions, and shall take care to protect and 
defend the Union, and to see that the laws be faithfully and 
equally executed in all parts of the country alike. I will 
assume the responsibility, fully sensible of the fact that to 
administer rightly the functions of government is to discharge 
the most sacred duty that can devolve upon an American 
citizen. 

I am, respectfully yours, 

WiNFiELD S. Hancock. 

To the Hon. John "W. Stevenson, President of the Convention ; Hon. 
John P. Stockton, Chairman ; and others of the Committee of the 
National Democratic Convention. 

The political canvass of 1880 was the most hotly con- 
tested in the history of this generation. It was the end 
of twenty years of continuous rule by the Eepublican 
party, and the country was ready for a change. Noth- 
ing but the most herculean efforts could prevent it, as 



318 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

the declaration of Tilclen's election had been prevented 
four years before. These efforts were put forth. Gen- 
eral Hancock had opposed to him the entire patronage 
and machinery of the federal administration, corporate 
influences which sought government protection, and an 
unlimited fund of money raised by heavy assessments. 
But in the face of all this, and in spite of misrepresen- 
tation and detraction such as unfortunately falls to the 
lot of every candidate for high office, the contest was 
most creditable to the Democracy and honorable to the 
leader of that party. 

Among the incidents of that canvass which was per- 
sistently misrepresented to General Hancock's hurt, and 
which was even to the day of his death quoted as demon- 
strating an ignorance of public affairs, was tlie pub- 
lication of a letter, late in the campaign, in which he 
referred to the tariff as a "- local issue." This expression 
was seized upon by the press, distorted in every con- 
ceivable way, and made the occasion of assaults upon 
the intelligence of the writer. The meaning of the 
words, of course, was, that the tariff question was vari- 
ously considered, according as local interests varied, and 
that it could not enter as a fundamental element into 
the platform of either of the great political parties. 
This was a simple statement of a fact which is just as 
true now as it was then. The expression was perhaps 
unfortunate, but the idea was clear enough to fair- 
minded men. 

In spite of the strength of the opposition, which was 
then making its last successful struggle to retain power, 
General Hancock's great popularity, his known strength 
of character and incorruptible integrity, attracted to him 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 319 

an immense popular vote. At that election he received, 
in all the States, 4,442,035 votes, as against 4,449,053 for 
Garfield; the successful candidate receiving a plurality 
of only 7,018 out of a total popular vote of 9,000,000. 
In the vote of the Electoral College Garfield received 
a majority of 59, having 214 votes to Hancock's 155. 
The States which voted for Hancock were : Alabama, 
Arkansas, California (5 votes), Delaware, Florida, 
Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, 
Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, South 
Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. 
Those voting for Garfield were : California (1 vote), 
Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, 
Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, 
New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennysl- 
vania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin. 

General Hancock received his defeat in a manner that 
was characteristic and noble. He accepted the result 
without a murmur and without hard feeling. His first 
duty after the election was to take charge, in his mili- 
tary capacity, of the inauguration of his successful 
rival ; and the ovation which he received at Washing- 
ton on that occasion attested how large a place he held 
in the hearts of the people. 



320 LITE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 



CHAPTER X. 

Hancock assigned to the Department of the Atlantic. — Life at Gov- 
ernor's Island. — A Quiet and Honored Existence. — Duties of the 
Senior Major-General. — His Home Life. — Family Bereavements. 
— Death of General Grant; — Hancock's Last Public Appearance. 

The Presidential campaign, with all its stir and tur- 
moil and excitement, had made no difference with Han- 
cock's manner of life, nor did his defeat and the election 
of President Garfield turn him for a moment from the 
tenor of his way. Hancock was first of all a soldier, 
and lie had a soldier's idea of dut}'. He accepted the 
orders of the people as the commands of the authority 
superior to all others, and he obeyed without hesitation 
or a thought of murmuring. He would have been more 
than mortal had he not felt disappointment at the result 
of the election : he would have been other than himself 
had he allowed this disappointment to influence him by 
a feather's weight from what was his duty as a soldier, 
a citizen, and a courteous gentleman. How gracefully 
and manfully, and how simply withal, he accepted the 
situation, appears in a letter written about this time to 
a friend who had inquired of his intentions as to visiting 
Washington on the occasion of the inauguration. It 
is a delightfully informal letter, showing the great 
general in undress uniform. 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 821 

Governor's Island, ) 

New Yokk Harbor, Feb. 24, 1881. ] 

My DEAR Mrs. Whitney : — Yes, I am going to Washing- 
ton on the 3d of March for a few days. General Sherman, 
my commanding officer, has asked me to be present. I have 
no right to any personal feeling in the matter. It is clearly 
my duty as a soldier to obey. 

A Democratic Congress has formally announced that the 
people have duly elected a President, and that is James A. 
Garfield. It certainly seems that the Democratic candidate 
should be there to support the assertion. Otherwise he 
would not be a good Democrat. Vox popiiU,, vox Dei. The 
will of the majority rules, you know. 

What I can do in Washington with dignity, I shall do. I 
do not expect to be in advance of, or to follow, the triumphal 
car, either on foot or on horseback. I only expect to do my 
level best. 

The situation does not, from this early stand-point, look 
very well. I hope it may look better as I look back. I 
wonder how they did these things in Rome. I have read of 
the Roman ways, to be sure ; but it was a long time ago. 
When I return from Washington, I can tell you how the 
Americans do it under the new census. Fifty millions of 
people have a way of their own, you know. 

I hope you are well, and may I live to see a Democratic 
President. I am yours, very truly, 

WiNFiELD S. Hancock. 

From this time on, General Hancock had no more 
thought of the Presidency as an ambition which he 
could realize. He was no politician, and in no way 
greedy of public advancement for himself. He stepped 
forward to lead the Democracy in 1880, when he was 
called upon, as he was always ready for the service of 



322 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

his country. That episode was closed, and he was still 
the soldier. General St. Clair A. Mulholland, who com- 
manded a brigade in Hancock's division during a good 
part of the war, and who was an intimate personal 
friend, tells of a call upon Hancock at Governor's 
Island, shortly after he had realized the wish expressed 
in his letter to Mrs. Whitney, and had seen a Demo- 
cratic President elected and inaugurated. General Han- 
cock chatted about old times, and especially his defeat 
for the Presidency in 1880. He laughed heartily as he 
recalled anecdotes in regard to that campaign. When 
asked if he would ever be willing to go before the 
people again, he assumed a sad air as he said, — 

" No. I am done with that. I shall never place my- 
self again prominently before the people, or take an 
active part in public affairs, unless some great crisis, like 
the rebellion of 1861, should call me into action. I shall 
retire from military service in two years." 

Hancock was now the senior Major-General of the 
United States Army. Grant had retired. Sherman 
had been made General, and Sheridan had succeeded to 
the Lieutenant-Generalcy. Next to these ranked Han- 
cock. Plis assignment was to the command of the 
Department of the Atlantic, a position of great respon- 
sibilit}^ and dignity. Its duties were largely administra- 
tive. There was no fighting to be done. On the occasion 
of the great railroad riots in Pennsylvania, Hancock 
went to the scene of the disturbance in person, at the 
request of the government, with a small number of 
troops ; but the only powder burned by this hero of 
many battles, during his occupancy of this post, was 
that expended in salutes. 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 323 

The years spent at the headquarters on Governor's 
Island were busy but quiet. The affairs of the Depart- 
ment' called for the exercise of the executive ability 
which General Hancock possessed in so large measure, 
and were carefully managed. 

The social requirements of the commander at this 
station were also very exacting. Being so near New 
York, General and Mrs. Hancock were constantly 
entertaining distinguished guests, few of whom passed 
through that city without paying their respects to the 
great soldier. The duties which were thus imposed 
upon the General were gracefully performed by him 
and his wife. Mrs. Hancock was always ready for 
visitors before noon every day, and tea and simple 
refreshments were handed to those who called. 

The residence of General Hancock at Governor's Island 
was a charming spot. It was at once secluded and open ; 
within sight of the great bustling metropolis, yet quiet 
as a country village on Sunday ; with all the traffic of 
the greatest seaport in America passing within hail, but 
accessible only by one little steamer that ploughed to 
and fro between the pier at Castle Garden and the 
wharf at the island. Trees shaded the ample lawn 
about the General's house, over which vines clambered. 
Peace and quiet reigned there, and cheerful hospitality. 
In this domain. General Hancock ruled supreme, but with 
a kindl}^ sway. General Francis A. Walker saj's of him, 
that Hancock " was a severe disciplinarian, and de- 
manded a great deal of his staff, of himself, and of all 
his subordinates, but there never was a man of more 
generous appreciation of first-class conduct on the part 
of his subordinates, both officers and privates. He 



324 LIFE AND PUBLIC SEEVICES OF 

was very fond of bringing up good officers, and I pre- 
sume that was one secret of what might be called his 
good fortune. If ever a man showed high quality, 
he was certain of the warmest and most cordial appre- 
ciation ; and it inspired the officers and men. He was 
a very affectionate man, a man of very warm friend- 
ships, very earnest and faithful in his friendships, and 
very much beloved by all who knew him. I don't 
mean that he was incapable of enmities at all, but in 
general he was liked by his colleagues and other com- 
manders of his own rank, and was very much beloved 
by his subordinates. His standard of duty was very 
high. If a man did not do his very best, he was very 
likely to hear from him. Hancock was a man who was 
not mealy-mouthed at all." 

All who knew Hancock, whether in military or civil 
life, unite in testimony to the simple kindliness of his 
nature, and his unselfish regard for others. Nothing 
could be more touching than the affection which his 
old school-teacher, Eliphat Roberts of Norristown, 
retained for him to the last. This old gentleman, 
who survives his pupil, reached his ninetieth birth- 
day on the day of the General's death ; and though 
his sight is dim, and his walk is tottering, his eyes 
brighten, and his voice has a heartier ring, as he speaks 
about "his General." 

" Winfield came to my school," he says, " when he 
was only seven years old, and I taught him for seven 
years. I won't flatter him. He was just like other 
boys about studying his lessons; but I always liked the 
little fellow as a school-boy, and you know him as a man. 
That boy was a born commander. He hadn't been at 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 825 

school six weeks before he had organized a company, 
and was captain ; and he had them in good drill too. 
These school-boy soldiers never thought of having any 
other commander. 

" I remember a funny story about him. One time the 
proud boy-captain was reviewiiig his troops, when the 
order came from headquarters that he would have to 
come in and wipe the dishes because his mother Avas 
sick. The little fellow sheathed the wooden sword 
bravely for the apron and dish-towel ; but his troops 
stood at the kitchen window, and taunted him, so that, 
finally exasperated, he chased the whole lot of them 
seven blocks with the towel. 

" Then, again, I picked him up bodily out of a fight, 
and carried him into the schoolhouse. When he left 
my school, he went to West Point, and I didn't see him 
again for twenty-five years. I heard he had been 
brought here from Gettysburg, wounded; and, with 
some trepidation as to how the great General would 
receive me, I went to the hotel to see him. I'll never 
forget his welcome in my life. He grasped both my 
hands, and said, ' My old friend, I could never forget 
you.' 

" Then, one time after the war, when he was review- 
ing the troops, he was coming out of the La Pier House, 
where the Lafayette now stands, accompanied by his 
staff; and I edged my way through the crowd, just to 
get a glimpse of him. The colored porter was very 
officious, and was ordering me and others off the steps, 
when Hancock caught sight of me. He sprang between 
the porter and me, and, taking me by the hands, brought 
me up on the steps, and introduced me to all the officers 



326 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

as his schoolmaster, who had once saved him from being 
whipped in a fight by carrying him off. 

" One day last March I was sitting in the parlor here, 
and the door-bell rang. I opened the door, and a fine- 
looking man entered. He said, ' Don't you know me ? ' 
My sight was bad then, and I didn't. Then he said, 
'I am Hancock.' It was a happy meeting. He learned 
about my daughter Clara, and went from here to Wash- 
ington, and by his influence got her in the Mint, where 
she now is. He once acted as pall-bearer when a mem- 
ber of my family died, and he has always been more 
than kind to me." 

"Hancock was a man of infinite kindness," says Con- 
gressman Brigham, who was on his staff at one time. 
He was not only such to those with whom he was 
brought into official relations, for whose comfort he was 
more solicitous than for his own, but the same quality 
was displayed by him to all. He had a woman's gentle- 
ness, with the bravery of a lion, and a strong man's 
stern sense of dut}^ 

A little girl, whose grandmother was born in the 
neighborhood from which Hancock's parents came, and 
who thought some family connection might possibly 
exist, wrote him a childish letter of inquiry. Hancock 
did not pass it over with neglect, nor did he put 
her off with a curt and formal reply. He wrote little 
Virgie Wentz a letter, chatty, simple, and full of boyish 
detail, that would delight the heart of any child. But 
this letter tells so much of the story of General Han- 
cock's early life, in such an informal, free, and unre- 
strained fashion, that we give it entire. 

"I like your religious ways," he writes, "and the way 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 327 

you think and speak about matters of that nature. I 
was- pleased to hear that your grandmamma was born in 
the same county in which I was born, — Montgomery, 
Penna. You do not tell me her maiden name, however. 
I was not born in Norristown, but at Montgomery 
Square (in the country, twelve miles away), in Mont- 
gomery Township, Montgomery County. The name 
Montgomery has a Welsh origin, no doubt, for many 
Welsh were settled about the place of my birth. Some 
of my ancestors were of Welsh origin. Many of the 
names in that section to-day, of places and persons, are 
Welsh. Gwj^nedd Township comes from Wales. Jen- 
kins, a family name of descendants of one of the old- 
est families there, is Welsh, and one belonging to my 
great-grandmother on my mother's side. Of that rela- 
tionship, the earliest settled there, and one of the earliest 
settlers, was named Jenken, afterwards corrupted into 
Jenkins. 

" Your father's name also seems to me to be of Mont- 
gomery. I have had friends of my own of that name, 
in my own county, forty years ago. I believe I have 
seen the old ^ Wentz Church,' of which you speak, but 
have forgotten exactly where it is located. 

" I left home for West Point in 1840, and since have 
not returned to Montgomery County, save at intervals 
of a few 3^ears, and then for brief periods only, to see 
my parents. My father died in 1867 ; my mother a 
few years since, about 1878 (I have not the date by 
me). None of my name, or of the family of my name, 
reside there to-day. I have kinfolks on my mother's 
side (a number of them) who reside in the country; 
possibly, now, in Norristown. 



328 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

" The dead of my mother's family are hurled at 
Montgomery Square Baptist Church, so far back as my 
great-grandfather, John Hexwortli, or Hawkesworth as 
it was then probably spelled, and including my grand- 
father, Edward Hexworth : my great-great-grandfathers 
now buried at Barren Hill, or in some churchyard in 
that section of country now Montgomery, then a part 
of Philadelphia County. My mother, with my father 
and some of their grandchildren (their children, three 
boys, all live: I and another are twins), are buried in 
the Montgomery County Cemetery, at Norristown, all 
named Hancock. 

"I am always pleased to hear of people who visited 
my father at his home in Norristown, when I was a cadet 
or at any other time ; and I should be gratified to know 
the name of your friend who was a visitor there when 
I was a West Point cadet, on furlough I presume. I 
never knew a man whom I respected as much as my 
father. (It was due to his character, his appearance, 
and the method of his life.) My mother was a good 
woman, did her duty always, and belonged to a family 
of resolute and hospitable character. 

"In looking over your letter carefully, I observe that 
you say your father's ancestors came from Germany in 
1729, and settled in now Montgomery County (then 
a part of Philadelphia County). It was about 1728 
that my grandfather John, or his fiither (Peter, if I 
recall aright as to his name), built the homestead of 
Hexworth, in Hatfield Township, a few miles (I believe 
four) from Montgomery Square (adjoining Lansdale, a 
railroad town on the North Penn road). It adjoins an 
addition built in 1761. The latter is standing, and the 
older part appears in a state of decay. 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 329 

"I have been in both fifty years (or less) ago, and 
have seen them as I have described them but three or 
four years since. The Hexworth farm adjoined the 
John Jenkins farm. Lansdale is built upon the latter. 
John Jenkins, I believe, is still alive. I saw him in 
' North Wales ' (Gwynedd) three or four years ago. 
He was then ninety years of age, walked on the country 
road, say eight miles a day, for exercise, and had pre- 
served his faculties. 

" I recollect well, when I was a boy, fifty years ago, 
driving frequently from my grandfather's house to 
Montgomery County Baptist Church, at Montgomery 
Square, on Sundaj^s. M}^ mother's people were all Bap- 
tists. I visited the church fifty years afterwards, one 
Sunday, and I observed that the young men remained 
on the outside (sitting on fences, if I recollect aright, 
and looking like so many crows). They had not strong- 
minded mothers or fathers, I imagine. There were, no 
doubt, some older reprobates among them ; but the 
ladies and the children, and the old and religious men, 
and the good boys like myself, went inside, — just as 
they had done fifty years before.'' 

During his residence at Governor's Island, General 
Hancock made many warm friends outside the army 
circles. He and his wife were welcome guests at the 
firesides of more houses than they had time to visit, 
both in New York and Philadelphia. The last appear- 
ance of General Hancock in Philadelphia was at the 
annual dinner of the Clover Club, in January, 1886. 
In the reception-room he was the central figure among 
the guests ; and it was remarked by every one who 
took the genial soldier's hand, that he was at least in 



830 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

fair health. His manner was fascinating, and he was 
in extreme good-humor. At the table he occupied the 
seat of honor. The first of the guests to speak, he was 
given a reception as he arose, which, in cordiality and 
enthusiasm, exceeded that which greeted any other 
speaker. He spoke only a few words, but they were 
such as perfectly fitted the occasion. He is said to have 
expressed, at that time, the belief that it would be his 
last visit there. 

Hancock had a faculty of attaching to himself, by 
the ties of affection as well as of respect, every one 
with whom he came into official association. He was a 
strict disciplinarian, exacted the hardest and most con- 
stant work cf his staff, and yet bound them to him by 
the strongest sentiment of esteem. One of his staff- 
officers. General Mitchell, is spoken of by General 
Walker as follows : — 

"General Hancock sustained a great loss in the death of 
General Mitchell of his staff, who was singularly close to 
him. I don't think that any other man in the army ever had 
a staff-officer who was to him quite what Mitchell was to 
Hancock. Mitchell was, I should say, almost the best aide- 
de-camp in the army, a man of singular ability and force of 
character, and was utterly devoted to Hancock. He went on 
his staff in 1861, saw his first battle by Hancock's side, and 
he remained with him after the war as staff-officer, until his 
own death three years ago. If Hancock woke m the middle 
of the night, and put out his hand, he expected to feel Mitchell 
at the end of his fingers. He leaned upon him. Mitchell 
knew every detail of Hancock's career, every feature of his 
campaigns, and was able to ward off annoyances and troubles 
of a military character from him as no other man could have 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 831 

done ; and his death was a fearful blow to Hancock. I don't 
suppose any son was ever any dearer to a father than Mitchell 
was to Hancock." 

General Joseph H. Sleeper, who was also on General 
Hancock's staff, and who kept up the friendship thus 
formed, says that " his success as a commander was due 
to his personal magnetism and courage, and his careful 
attention to the minutest details. His watchfulness 
was unceasing. As a man he was patient, tender, and 
magnanimous, a true and loyal friend. 

" Perhaps my clearest recollection of him in action 
is as he rode with reckless daring in front of the ' death 
angle,' at Spottsylvania. His coat flew open as he rode, 
and showed his shirt, stained with the red blood that 
sprang from the re-opened wound of Gettysburg, to 
which he paid not the slightest attention. 

" His character, in its full beauty, can only be known 
to those of us who have been near to him, as friends, 
for years. His way of receiving his nomination and de- 
feat for the Presidency was thoroughly characteristic 
and noble. He took his defeat without a murmur or 
hard feeling , and his first dut}^ almost, was to take 
charge, in his military capacity, of the inauguration of 
his rival. His life was wholly clean and open, and he 
was never mixed up with the intrigues and jealousies 
which had so large a place in the Army of the Po- 
tomac." 

Congressman Brigham, another of Hancock's staff, 
says, -— 

'^He was every inch a soldier, who did his duty irrespec- 
tive of party feeling or personal desire. No matter how 



332 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

difficult the task, he never flinched, or lost his head. He 
commanded more men than any other corps commander in 
the army. At the battles of Gettysburg and the Wilderness 
he commanded half the army, and commanded it well. At 
the battle of Spottsylvania Court House he was holding a 
position where the danger was so imminent that his officers 
every moment expected to see him fall. The minie balls 
were flying so thickly that they had cut in two an adjacent 
tree, one and a half feet in diameter. General Barlow was 
so impressed by General Hancock's danger that he bade him 
good-by, saying that he never expected to see him again. 
' Keep cool, boys,' said the General ; ' it will be all right ; we 
must maintain our position, and we are going to do it ; ' and 
he did." 

Among the many incidents told to illustrate the 
simple, straightforward manliness of General Hancock's 
character, is this: One day a number of officers who 
were serving in General Hancock's division selected as 
their speaker a distinguished officer and personal friend 
of General Hancock, and the party called on General 
Hancock. '* We have come," said the speaker, '' to 
express to you our sense of wrong and our indignation 
at the removal of General McClellan." '' Stop one 
moment, gentlemen," was General Hancock's quick 
resj^onse. " Return to your commands at once, and 
remember always that we are here not to serve the 
interests of any one man. We are here to serve our 
country." General Hancock was one of McClellan's 
devoted friends and admirers. Nothing could better 
illustrate his subordination of all his personal concerns 
and preferences to the interests of his country. 

General Hancock never appeared in public except 




HANCOCK AT THE HEAD OF GRANT'S FUNERAL PROCESSION, 

NEW YORK. 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 333 

when called by official duty. He did not seek display, 
or strive for personal prominence. Still less was he 
heard from in politics. The campaign of 1884, so 
vigorously contested, passed without a word from him 
who had been the candidate four years before , but on 
the occasion of the inauguration of President Cleveland, 
General Hancock, in his military capacity, had charge 
of the arrangements at Washington. 

His last public appearance as general commanding 
was at the head of the grand pageant witnessed on the 
day that the remains of General Grant were taken to 
the tomb on the little knoll in Riverside Park. His 
appearance on that occasion was greeted with a feeling 
of admiration that on any other occasion would have 
found vent in cheers of enthusiasm. He seemed then 
in the full bloom of health. His face was full, without 
being gross or fleshy, his eye bright and clear, and his 
form erect and stately. He was every inch a general. 
From the moment that, by direction of the President, 
he assumed charge of the funeral, he was busy night 
and day ; and mail and telegraph-wires were burdened 
with orders that were necessary to make the ceremonies 
as dignified and impressive as became the General of the 
armies and the first citizen of the republic. 

From Mount McGregor to its resting-place in River- 
side Park, the casket containing the body of the great 
General and President was in charge of General Han- 
cock. On the 8th of August, 1885, the funeral proces- 
sion, the greatest and most impressive display ever seen 
on this continent, formed on Broadway for its march of 
nine miles through streets thronged with reverential 
spectators. Not a foot of room was unoccupied, the 



334 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

doorsteps and places of vantage having been held by 
patient spectators since midnight. One hundred posts 
of the Grand Army of the Republic, fifteen hundred 
regular troops and marines, with an apparently unend- 
ing cortege of carriages, and persons on foot, made up 
a procession which numbered thirty thousand men in 
line. When Hancock made his appearance on his big 
black horse, with his mounted staff about him, at the 
head of the line, there was almost a cheer, so profoundly 
did his superb bearing and the remembrance of his great 
deeds impress the people. Hancock silenced it with a 
gesture, and performed the last honors to his departed 
chief with that decorum which always distinguished his 
public duties. 

General Hancock's family life at Governor's Island 
w^as quiet and happy, although there the cloud of 
bereavement fell upon him. Mrs. Hancock is a woman 
of rare accomplishments and a most lovely character. 
She presided as queen of the community at the island, 
dispensing its hospitality with the utmost grace ; and in 
society she shone as one of the leading ornaments. For 
years she officiated as organist of St. Cornelius' Chapel 
on the island, for which she composed a number of 
pieces of sacred music, among them a '' Venite," of great 
beauty, which has been published. 

The death of the only daughter of General and Mrs. 
Hancock, Ada, occurred in 1873. Affliction also visited 
the house on Governor's Island. Mrs. Hancock's mother, 
Mrs. Russell, died there in 1884, and, sliortly after, the 
only son of the General, Russell Hancock. This son 
had married early, and settled on a plantation in Clarks- 
dale, Mississippi, where there were born to him four 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 335 

children. The eldest, a boy, died while on a visit at 
Governor's Island. As one by one those whom General 
Hancock loved were removed by death, his affection 
seemed to cling more and more closely to his grandson, 
Gwynn, who, with two sisters, Ada and Almira, survived 
their father, Russell Hancock. The grandchildren were 
much at the island, and the General retained little 
Gwynn when his mother and sisters returned to their 
Southern home. The child brightened the household, 
which, though saddened, was peaceful and happy. 



836 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 



CHAPTER XL 

Last Days. — Hancock's Short and Fatal Illness. — On Duty to the 
Last Moment. — A Nation in Mourning. — Funeral Services in 
Trinity Church. — Return of the Hero to the Home of His Child- 
hood. — The Cemetery at Norristown. — Tributes of Honor, Respect, 
and Affection. 

At half-past two o'clock in the afternoon of Tuesday, 
Feb. 9, 1886, the flags on Castle William and Gov- 
ernor's Island were seen floating at half-mast. Through 
the length and breadth of the land the unexpected 
word flashed over *the wires, " General Hancock is 
dead." 

To all it came as a sudden and unforeseen blow. 
None outside the little military colony on the island 
knew of the short illness which had preceded. Even 
these were unprepared for a fatal event until within a 
few hours before it occurred. On the desk of one of 
the General's aides-de-cainp was a pile of letters, written 
by his order, and awaiting a signature they could never 
receive. They were answers to letters from widows of 
soldiers, asking for a good word from the General in 
behalf of an increase in their pensions ; from poor peo- 
ple out of work, asking for aid ; and from all sorts and 
conditions of people who wanted help. To all of these 
the General had dictated answers of the most kindly 
and generous description. Without warning, his com- 
rades and his country were called upon to mourn. 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 337 

General Hancock's death, although caused finally by 
an acute and rapid disease, was really the death of one 
who had worn himself out in the service of his country. 
General Walker expressed the fact in these words : — 

*' He wore his staff all out, and, of course, he wore himself 
out to a great extent ; that is to say. General Hancock's dy- 
ing to-day means that he was more than half dead when the 
war closed, because he was a man of superb physique and 
boundless vital force. But the man could not go on that way 
year after year without giving himself death-wounds, though 
it might take him some time to die of them." 

He had been in poor health, more or less, all winter; 
although when, about a fortnight before his death, he 
Attended a dinner-party in New York, he seemed in 
the best of spirits,^ and no one thought of him as one 
whom they were not to meet again. Nevertheless, he 
remained at headquarters almost constantly, going out 
very little, but receiving all who came to see him ; and 
it was thought that he never fully recovered from the 
shock caused by the death of his only son, Russell Han- 
cock, which occurred Dec. 30, 1884. 

A few days before his death he made a trip to Wash- 
ington, on official and private business, accompanied by 
Lieutenant J. A. Da Pray. There he made formal calls 
on the President, the Secretary of War, and General 
Sheridan. Several of the General's old classmates at 
West Point were in Washington, and they all called on 
him, to talk over old times at the academy and the 
stirring events which had happened since their gradu- 
ation. On Thursday, Jan. 28, he sat all the evening 
with Lieutenant Da Pray and General Franklin, who 



838 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

were at the Point with him, recalling incidents of his 
career as a cadet. Of no other subject did he think or 
talk that night. It was as if his memory, all at once, 
had leaped back into the past, and he was living his 
cadet-life over again. The most minute incidents of his 
life OD the Hudson, incidents forgotten for years, came 
back to him freshly and vividly. It was like the setting 
sun, Avhich sometimes after a stormy day breaks through 
the clouds before it sinks from sight ; for in the morning 
the General returned to Governor's Island to die. 

While at Washington, he was suffering from a boil 
on the back of his neck, which he had lanced while in 
that city. Upon his return to Governor's Island, Dr. 
John H. Janeway, his attending physician, found that 
the boil had been growing for several days, and thought 
that it might prove troublesome. The loss of blood 
was such as to make a very perceptible difference in the 
General's usual robust appearance. The boil continued 
to grow; and, three days later, it took the appearance 
of a carbuncle, and caused considerable pain. Two 
days afterward. General Hancock was feeling xery ill; 
but at night he took a turn for the better, and the 
symptoms were thought to be entirely in his favor. 
This favorable condition lasted only a short time, how- 
ever ; for on Friday, the day following, he grew worse 
very rapidly. The carbuncle pained him greatly, and 
at 11.30 o'clock that night he became delirious. 

For the first time. Dr. Janeway considered him very 
seriously ill, and watched by him constantly. On 
Saturday, General Hancock rested easier, the symptoms 
being more fiivorable; and on Sunday he seemed neither 
to gain nor to lose. He was in a cheerful frame of mind, 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 339 

and seemed hopeful of a speedy recovery. He talked 
pleasantly with his wife, who was with him day and 
night, and with his little grandson, Gwynn Hancock, 
wliose toys took up a good share of the unoccupied 
space in the General's bed-chamber. 

In spite of all alleviative remedies, however, General 
Hancock continued to grow worse. He sank slowly 
but steadily during all of Sunday night ; and during 
Monday the decline was so rapid, that, at evening, it 
was thought that he would lapse into unconsciousness 
before morning. 

Mrs. Hancock refused to leave his bedside for a mo- 
ment. She spoke to him from time to time, and he 
replied only in monosyllables. Although nurses were 
in and out of the room constantly, yet Mrs. Hancock 
would let no one administer the medicines but hervself. 
Early Tuesday morning, worn out with watching, she 
rose to leave the room to catch an hour's sleep in another 
part of the house. General Hancock's eyes followed 
her to the door. As if by instinct she stopped on the 
threshold, and looked back. He struggled to speak. 

" O Allie, Allie ! Myra ! Good " — 

He tried to finish the sentence, but could not. Those 
were his last words. The names Allie and Myra had 
been pet names for Mrs. Hancock during their entire 
wedded life. Mrs. Hancock burst into tears, and was 
led away to another room. 

General Hancock soon became unconscious. An 
examination confirmed the fears of the physicians, show- 
ing that, in addition to the carbuncle, he was suffering 
severely from diabetes ; and, with tears in his eyes, Dr. 
Janeway communicated to Mrs. Hancock the sad news 



340 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

that death was inevitable within a few hours. She was 
completely prostrated. She had guessed the truth early 
in the morning before the examination was made, yet 
she had borne up with remarkable bravery until the 
physicians should give their final decision. She re- 
mained at the General's bedside, overcome with grief, 
until one o'clock in the afternoon, when she was prevailed 
upon to leave the room. Her sorrow at parting with 
her husband was very touching, made doubly so by the 
fact that he could not respond to her expressions of 
endearment and sobbing words of farewell. When she 
was at length half carried from the room, every member 
of the household, from the officers in attendance down 
to the servants in the kitchen, was in tears. 

Soon after one o'clock, all pretence of work in the house 
stopped, and all waited in silence for the end. About 
half-past two, the General's breathing grew labored ; 
but this passed, and he lay as if asleep. The little 
group of watchers gathered about the bedside. General 
Hancock drew a long, deep breath, and with it his great 
soul passed away. 

In that quiet chamber, furnished with the simple 
comforts of home, and strewn with the playthings of his 
grandchildren, — the tin locomotive with its train of 
cars, and the toy schooner under full sail, — death found 
the great soldier who had looked smilingly in the face 
of the dread angel in the hottest fury of battle. He 
was spared for the work that he had to do for his 
country and for his fellow-men. He had finished his 
course. The man of war had found peace. 

His face bore a calm and natural expression, although 
the eyes were much sunken. His body was as slender 
as that of a young man. 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 341 

The news of General Hancock's death was received 
by President Cleveland shortly after the adjournment 
of the cabinet-meeting in the afternoon. The national 
flag was run up at half-mast on the White House, and 
the President at once issued the following general 
order : — 

Executive Mansion, j 

Washington, Feb. 9, 188(5 — 4 o'clock p.m. ) 

Tidings of the death of Winfield Scott Hancock, the senior 
Major-General of the Army of the United States, have just 
been received. A patriotic and valiant defender of his 
country ; an able and heroic soldier ; a spotless and accom- 
plished gentleman, — crowned alike with the laurels of military 
renown and the highest tribute of his fellow-countrymen to 
bis worth as a citizen, — he has gone to his reward. It is 
fitting that every mark of public respect should be paid to 
his memory. Therefore it is now ordered by the President 
that the national flag be displayed at half-mast upon all the 
buildings of the Executive Departments in this city until after 
his funeral shall have taken place. 

Daniel S. Lamont, Private Secretary. 

The President also sent the following despatch to 
Mrs. Hancock : — 

Executive Mansion, i 

Washington, D.C., Feb. 9, 1886. } 

Mrs. W. S. Hancock, Governor's Island, New York : 

— Accept my heartfelt sympathy and condolence in your 

terrible bereavement. The heroism and worth of your late 

husband have gathered to your side in this hour of your 

affliction a nation of mourners. 

Grover Cleveland. 

It was* the wish of Mrs. Hancock that her husband 
should not be buried with the pomp of military honors 



342 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

to which his rank entitled him, but that the obsequies 
should be as simple and unostentatious as possible. A 
despatch from President Cleveland, asking for informa- 
tion concerning the funeral, was answered to this effect, 
and preparations were made accordingly. Mrs. Han- 
cock was physically prostrated by her grief and her 
watching, and, by the advice of her physician, took no 
part in the ceremonies after the last sad farewell. On 
Friday evening everybody upon the island was allowed 
to enter the parlor in which General Hancock's body 
lay, and take a farewell look at his dead face. For 
nearly an hour, officers, privates, servants, and messen- 
gers filed by the coffin. Many an eye was filled with 
tears at the solemn spectacle. Those who had served 
the General many years ago, who cherished for him 
warm feelings of attachment, were deepest in their 
mourning. 

The morning of Saturday, Feb. 13, dawned cold and 
rainy. Governor's Island was banked in fog, through 
which the little steamer " Atlantic " carried loads of 
officers in uniform, and citizens in dripping overcoats, 
from the city to the place where Hancock lay dead. 

At half-past eight o'clock the military escort, consist- 
ing of three batteries of the Fifth Artillerv, armed as 
infantry, marched through the salh-port of Fort Co- 
lumbus, and drew up in front of the house with reversed 
arms. Every movement was noiseless, the rain-soaked 
sod giving no sound to the martial tread. A little later 
the sixteen non-commissioned officers of the guard of 
honor marched down the brick walk, and entered the 
house. A score or so of people, living on the island, stood 
reverently about, and waited for the appearance of the 



WIKFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 343 

coffin. A drizzling rain was falling at the lime. Not 
a sound was heard until the order was given to present 
arms, and then through the heavy air came the tread 
of the soldiers bearing the coffin across the veranda 
and down the steps. Then the booming of minute-guns 
from Castle William told that the journey to the grave 
had begun. 

On the pier at New York the pall-bearers were wait- 
ing ; and as the casket was borne from the boat to the 
shore, General Sherman and Secretary Bayard stepped 
forward, with uncovered heads, to meet it. The pall- 
bearers were, Thomas F. Bayard, Secretary of State, 
General W. T. Sherman, Lieuteiiant-General Philip H. 
Sheridan, Major-General J. M. Schofield, General W. 
R. Franklin, General W. B. Smith, Brigadier-General 
James B. Fry, Brigadier-General T. H. Terry, Brigadier- 
General N. A. Miles, Bi'igadier-General John New- 
ton, Brigadier-General O. B. Wilcox, General Francis 
W^alker, Mr. J. W. Hartshorne, Colonel W. P. Wilson, 
and Major D. W. Miller. 

The funeral services were to take place at Trinity 
Church ; and thither the procession took its way, through 
streets crowded on each side by a silent throng, stand- 
ing with heads bared to the falling rain as the simple 
cortege passed with the body of the dead hero. The 
church, whose only decoration was a white cross on a 
black border, which rested upon the pulpit, was filled 
as the hour approached for the arrival of the funeral 
procession ; and the assembly rose to its feet as the 
casket was borne in, and up the aisle to the chancel, 
preceded by Rev. Dr. Dix, and Rev. E. H. C. Goodwin, 
Post-Chaplain at Governor's Island. The opening 



344 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OP 

words of the burial service were recited as the proces- 
sion moved down the aisle, and the coffin was deposited 
on the pavement in front of the chancel-rail. 

The funeral service was the simple ceremonial of the 
Episcopal Church. There was no eulogy, no address. 
There was no need of that. The casket, draped with 
the flag of the Union, on which rested the dead Gen- 
eral's sword and chapeau and a simple laurel-wreath, 
spoke more solemnly than any oratory. Those who 
gathered there had not come to witness a spectacle, but 
to participate in a last tribute of respect to the memory 
of a great soldier and patriot, who had served his coun- 
try long and faithfully. Gray heads were numerous in 
the assemblage. Every face looked thoughtful, some 
sad; and here and there something much like tears 
glistened. 

From the church the body was taken to the barge- 
office, and thence by boat to the station at Jersey City, 
where a special train, draped in black, awaited it. 
Amid the tolling of bells the train slowly moved out 
along the road toward Hancock's boyhood's home. 
The track was lined with crowds that bared their heads 
as the funeral-car swept by. As each station was passed, 
the same silent reverence was paid the hero, by throngs 
who had patiently waited the coming of the black-robed 
train. Through the country its progress was watched 
with the same mournful interest. 

At three o'clock Norristown Avas reached. The town 
was draped in black, and the bells were tolling ; and the 
procession was at once formed for the march to the 
cemetery. It passed by the spots made celebrated by 
the great man who now came home for his last rest. 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 845 

The little deserted stone house, where Hancock was 
brought, as a baby, from his birthplace at Montgomery 
Square, had its crumbling walls hidden in folds of black 
drapery. The mourning-color covered the brick dwell- 
ing near the corner of Swede Street, where Hancock 
lay wounded after Gettysburg. Every thing spoke of 
the dead hero. 

At the cemetery, thousands of persons had congre- 
gated, from all the country about, clustering on the 
hillside above the tomb. When the hearse arrived, 
sixteen blue-coats, of the Fifth Artillery, eight on a 
side, lifted the casket, and carried it slowly to the sep- 
ulchre. Formed in two lines, facing each other, the 
pall-bearers stood in front of the tomb with uncovered 
heads. General Sherman stood at the head of one line, 
with General Sheridan standing next to him ; and oppo- 
site, at the head of the other line, stood Secretary of 
State Bayard. Then the first of three salvos was fired 
from the hillside hard by. 

In the vault, two wreaths of white Marguerites were 
taken by a blue-coated messenger. They were tributes 
from Mrs. Hancock to her dead husband and daughter. 
One had woven in it, in purple immortelles, '' Hus- 
band;" and the other read, ''Daughter." General Han- 
cock long ago said to his wife, one night, that when he 
died, he wanted only a plain wreath placed on his coffin. 
The upper right-hand niche was opened, and upon the 
casket of the General's daughter, Ida, was placed one 
of the tokens from the widow, while the other was 
placed upon the casket. Then the marble blocks were 
set in position, and sealed. 

As the blue-coated soldiers filed out of the vault, and 



346 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

the doors were closed, Bugler Richard Frank came out 
from the ranks, and, mounting the gentle slope beside 
the tomb, sounded the " taps " for General Hancock, 
the soldier's last good-night. The echo of the bugle- 
notes was drowned in the major-general's salute of 
thirteen guns, which boomed from the hillside. All 
was over. 

The tomb in which General Hancock's body rests is 
a plain stone structure, eight feet high, with a gable 
roof of granite, and a doorway seven and a half feet 
from the ground. There is no inscription anywhere 
upon the exterior ; and the vault itself is plain, and 
rendered especially inconspicuous from the fact that it is 
built in the face of a small hill, and the approach to it 
is by means of a roadway which descends several feet 
below the level of the general plane of the cemeter}^ 
Within the vault are six catacombs, seven feet from the 
doorway and extending back eight feet. Upon a marble 
coping-stone, above these catacombs, is the simple legend, 
'' Hancock." The body of little Winfield Scott Han- 
cock, the General's grandson, is buried near the vault, 
as are also the bodies of the General's father, mother, 
and numerous nephews. General Hancock's only son 
lies buried in a St. Louis graveyard. The four Han- 
cock lots, including the one in which the vault is situated, 
are clustered about a plain granite monument, fourteen 
feet high, upon which are inscribed the names of those 
of the family who are buried about it. An iron fence 
encloses the entire piece of ground, which is well kept 
and traversed with well-marked walks. 

General Hancock died a poor man. He gave his 
life and his strength to the service of his country, and 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 347 

he gathered no pecuniary recompense. He was not a 
spendthrift. Far from it. General James B. Fry, who 
intimately knew his manner of life, says : — 

'' While General Hancock was economical in all things, 
the demands that pressed upon him for aiding destitute 
followers and old soldiers were so constant and heavy, that, 
in spite of all he could do, he fell behind. The salary of his 
lowest clerk would meet all that he and Mrs. Hancock spent 
upon themselves. All the rest of their income went for the 
good of others who needed it." 

Not only the endless charities, which were a constant 
drain npon his resources, but the expenses devolving 
upon him by reason of his official position, were the 
cause of this. The pay of a Major-General, seventy-five 
hundred dollars, by no means covered the obligations 
which he was compelled to assume. Hancock's duties 
after the war were peculiar. He was constantly being 
put forward into positions making demands upon his 
private means. Sent to Baltimore in 1866 to placate 
public sentiment ^ to New Orleans again for the same 
purpose ; stationed in New York, where his visitors 
numbered thousands ; placed in charge of the Yorktown 
celebration, and requested personally by Secretary Lin- 
coln to do every thing to make it a success, he had to 
receive and entertain the admirals and officers of the 
English, German, and French fleets, as well as our own, 
and the throng on his headquarters boat was incessant. 
The bills were presented, and were paid by him to the 
amount of. over six thousand dollars; and he was never 
reimbursed. During the Presidential campaign nearly 



348 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

ninety thousand visitors went to Governor's Island, and 
Hancock had to incur large expenses connected with it. 
He owned property, which, if he could have held on to 
it, would be worth to-day some one hundred and fifty 
thousand dollars ; and yet from time to time he had to 
part with it to defray expenses imposed upon him by 
his official superiors. 

It was manifestly proper, then, that some action 
should be taken to show in a material way the senti- 
ment which all felt toward General Hancock, and to 
provide for his widow. A fund for this purpose was 
promptly raised, Ex-Governor Samuel J. Tilden heading" 
the list on the day following General Hancock's death. 
With the pension voted by Congress, Mrs. Hancock is 
thus happily placed above want. 

The property which General Hancock left consisted 
only of household furniture, not exceeding one thousand 
dollars in value, so simple were his tastes. Had he lived, 
it is not improbable that he would have been advanced 
to the rank of Lieutenant-General, by the revival of 
the rank of General and the appointment of General 
Sheridan to that position, which would have entitled 
him to higher pay, and a greater pension on his retire- 
ment in 1888. A bill to that effect had, indeed, been 
prepared, although not presented to Congress, alleging 
his distinguished services, and his prominent public 
position, as a sufficient cause for the action. 

General Hancock left two brothers, — Colonel John 
Hancock, formerly of the army, now living at Jackson- 
ville, Fla. ; and Hilary Hancock, who lives in Minne- 
apolis, where he practises law. His only descendants 
are his grandchildren, Ada, Gwynn, and Almira Han- 
cock, children of his deceased son Russell. 




HANCOCK'S TOMB, NORRISTOWN, PENN. 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 349 

General Hancock's death called forth expressions of 
respect for the memory of the man, and admiration for 
the soldier, from every quarter. In addition to the 
formal resolutions passed by Congress and by other 
legislative bodies throughout the land, the words of his 
companions-in-arms have a yet greater significance. At 
the annual meeting of the Ohio Commandery of the 
Loyal Legion, of which order General Hancock was the 
senior officer, General Sherman pronounced a eulogy 
which, in its simple and almost childlike phrases, speaks 
the feelings of a great and warm soldier's heart. Ex- 
President Hayes, who ranked next to General Hancock 
in the Loyal Legion, presided at the meeting, at which 
General Sherman spoke as follows : — 

"Ladies, and Companions in the Glorious Cause: — 
General Grant records on the front fly-leaf of his book, that 
man proposes, and God disposes. We feel that here to-night. 
Yesterday we hoped to have a jolly good time ; and yet the 
telegraph wafted over the wire the sad intelligence that the 
glorious man, your former commander-in-chief, one who prob- 
ably has done more to sustain the Loyal Legion than any 
other man on earth, lies to-day in his shroud, and waits but 
a few hours until he will be buried at his old home in Penn- 
sylvania. It is right and fit, ladies and gentlemen, that 
we should pause, and do this glorious subject martial honor, 
without record and without notes. I must speak, and will 
be as brief as possible. 

" I knew Hancock well-, for my memory goes back to the 
time when he came to West Point, a tall, slender boy, with 
fair hair and blue eyes, cheeks with the down of the freshly 
ripened peach. I have seen him from that time until a few 
months ago. He made a good name in the Mexican war. 



350 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES^ OF 

When I got to St. Louis, a captain in the commissary de- 
partment, I found Hancock there, developed in manly beauty, 
strengthened in character, a regimental quartermaster still, 
with the rank of First Lieutenant, a young groom of a beau- 
tiful bride. 

'' And here permit me, ladies, to speak of that good woman 
who is now a widow, for I knew her well. She was the child 
herself of an Ohio lady. Her parents, Russell by name, 
came from Zanesville, Ohio. Russell and Bennett, two young 
men living in Zanesville as boys, clerks in a store, found in 
two beautiful Creole girls, descendants from the old French 
stock, which came over here by reason of the revolution of 
1789, settled at Marietta or Gallipolis or Belpre, — found in 
them their wives. These two young men took their young 
girl-brides to St. Louis, and by labor, industry, and thrift 
rose to great eminence as merchants. Their houses were the 
very abode of happiness, and of hospitality such as I have 
never seen surpassed, even if equalled. 

" From that time on, General Hancock rose steadily in the 
estimation of his fellows ; and when the war broke out, tiiere 
was no hesitation there ; not a bit. He was a Union man. 
He was a soldier. There was not one quiver of the eyelid, 
not one tremble of the hand. Hancock wa^ a soldier, a man, 
— a very splendid man, too, as you who have seen him can 
bear testimony. He went into the war with his whole heart 
and soul, and carried with it experience, and the teachings of 
West Point, the teachings of the army, the teacJungs of the 
field. He knew a soldier, from the heel up to the top of his 
head ; and he sympathized with a soldier, and was himself a 
soldier in every walk of life. 

" Now, when the time came for battles to be fought, here 
we had a man who was qualified and capable, sustained by 
friends at home, encouraged by admiring companions ; and 
when the battle of Gettysburg came, Hancock was the im- 



WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 351 

personation of the defence. I have stood npon that very 
spot, behind the very stone wall, — not during the battle, but 
afterward, — and there was pointed out to me the place where 
Pickett's division came up, and where Hancock stood and 
fell ; and if there ever should be erected a monument on 
earth to man, there is the spot for Hancock's monument. 
But I will go farther, and say that I, and others with me, 
were going up through Virginia, after the war was over, and 
we went out of our way, and we saw the spot where Han- 
cock's corps had charged across those parapets, and saw the 
trees through which these men charged with Hancock at their 
head. Those were the two points probably most historic 
which marked him as a man in whom confidence could be 

bad. 

^'He had the confidence of General Grant, and of every 
man who ever had Hancock on his command, myself included. 
He was the most loyal, the most obedient, the most com- 
pletely satisfactory ; never questioning an order, loyal to the 
backbone, generous to a fault, and willing to execute any 
order, whether he approved it or not. I will go farther, and 
say that 1 knew Hancock on the plains, where there was no 
chance for glory, no hope for fame, no desire to attract 
notice, nothing but abuse and hardships, the same consci- 
entious man ; anxious to do right, anxious to fulfil the orders 
of his government, anxious to complete a job after which he 
had been despatched, and generally successful. 

" Now General Hancock is dead ! The big, strong, ner- 
vous man lies dead in his house on Governor's Island ; and 
we, his companions, may well shed a tear here to-night. It 
was a sad piece of news which came to us yesterday. O 
my friends ! when that woman sat at the gates of paradise, 
disconsolate, and appealed to the heavens what she should 
brino; to admit her into the gates, she went back and forth, 
and "finally returned with the expired spirit of a soldier-pa- 



352 LIFE OF WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 

triot ; and the gates of heaven were opened to her. If the 
gates of heaven will be opened for the poor girl, how much 
more will it be with the manly soldier ! The gates of heaven 
will remain ajar until he enters it ; and you and I, each arid 
every one of us, are the better for the life which this man 
lived. Our country is better for it. Our boys in school are 
the better for it. You yourself can point to this man, born 
of humble parents, reared at the common schools, who went 
into life with very little help, and rose by being a true, 
honest, and brave man and soldier, beloved by everybody, 
mourned by everybody. 

"And I say, Hancock, you are rewarded. I would not 
recall his life if I could. He has filled his life with a full 
measure. He will be honored by all mankind, be loved by 
all mankind, and be loved by all womankind too.'* 

Of all the testimony borne to General Hancock's 
character, there is none more appreciative or more fit- 
ting than that given by Secretary Bayard in his letter 
addressed to the Military Service Institution, on the 
occasion of the memorial service held by that associa- 
tion, Feb. 25, on Governor's Island : — 

*' While his shield bore many a mark of blows received in 
conflict, he laid it down in death as free from stain, as un- 
sullied by mean imputation or even suspicion, as when he 
first uplifted it m life's morning march." 

With this tribute, so well earned, so fully merited, 
the story of this great and knightly life may fitly close. 



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